Indian study challenges global view on Himalayan glaciers

NEW DELHI: India on Monday challenged the internationally accepted view that the Himalayan glaciers were receding due to global warming. The glaciers, although shrinking in volume and constantly showing a retreating front, have not in any way exhibited any abnormal annual retreat of the order that some glaciers in Alaska and Greenland have reported, a state-of-the-art review of Glacial Studies, Glacial Retreat and Climate Change said.

Brought out by V.K. Raina, former Deputy Director-General, Geological Survey of India, for the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the discussion paper on the Himalayan glaciers points out that it was premature to make a statement that the glaciers were retreating abnormally because of global warming.

The study says a glacier is affected by a range of physical features and a complex interplay of climatic factors, and it is, therefore, unlikely that the snout movement of any glacier can be claimed to be the result of periodic climate variation until many centuries of observations become available.

While glacier movements are primarily due to climate and snowfall, snout movements appear to be peculiar to each glacier, the paper adds.

Releasing the documents, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said that while most Himalayan glaciers were retreating, some were advancing as well. This included the Siachen glacier.

“Some glaciers are retreating at a declining rate, like the Gangotri, and the overall health of the Himalayan glaciers was poor as the debris cover had reached alarming proportions,” he said, citing the paper.

Mr. Ramesh added that there was no conclusive scientific evidence to show that global warming was resulting in the glacial retreats. Contrary to what most believe, there can be no comparison between the Arctic glaciers and the Himalayan glaciers, as the former are at sea-level and the latter at a very high altitude.

According to Mr. Raina, all glaciers under observation in the Himalayan region during the past three decades have shown cumulative negative mass balance (determined by annual snow precipitation). Degradation of the glacier mass has been the highest in Jammu and Kashmir, relatively lower in Himachal Pradesh, even less in Uttarakhand, and the lowest in Sikkim — showing a declining trend from the north-west to the north-east.

Irrespective on latitudinal difference, glacier melt contributes to about 25-30 per cent of the total discharge of glacier ice, with maximum discharge in mid-July and August.

Assuring several steps to study the Himalayan glaciers scientifically and arrive at a final conclusion, Mr. Ramesh said he would bring the discussion paper to the notice of R.K. Pachauri, chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and other agencies that have warned of doom due to melting glaciers.

Aarti Dhar

Glaciology centre to study melting of Himalayan glaciers

Shimla,October30: The Glaciology centre, the first of its kind in the country, will be set up in one of the Himalayan states to study melting of glaciers, amid findings that about 21 per cent of the snow cap had receded in the ranges in the last four decades.

The proposed centre would come up in any of the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,Uttrakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, said Akhilesh Gupta, Advisor, Union Science and Technology Department.

Glaciology is the scientific study of the internal mechanism of glaciers and their effects on eco-systems.

Studies had come out with shocking findings that Himalayan glaciers had melted by about 21 per cent during the period from 1966 to 2004 under the impact of global warming, Gupta, also coordinator of National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan Eco-systems, said.

Himalayan glaciers are the main source of water for major rivers in north India.On developed countries asking India to cut down its carbon emission, Gupta said the country's carbon emission rate was already low.

Melting Himalayan glaciers endanger Bhutan,Sikkim and North East India

Mount Jomolhar the highest peak in Bhutan.

Reports indicate that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers is threatening the kingdom of Bhutan, the impacts of which will adversely affect the entire South Asian region including Bhutan,Sikkim and north-east India.

According to a report in Nature News, glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating faster than in any other part of the world and they could disappear completely by 2035. This puts the mountainous nation of Bhutan at a special risk. In an area smaller than Switzerland, it has 983 glaciers and 2,794 glacial lakes, some of which have burst to produce deadly glacial lake floods.

A nation without even its own helicopter, Bhutan lacks the resources to combat global warming. It is carrying out the work at Thorthormi glacier with the help of money from various international donors.

As the first nation to get adaptation money from the Least Developed Countries Fund, Bhutan is something of a pioneer among developing nations in their quest to adapt to a warmer future, and the struggles at Thorthormi glacier illustrate the enormous obstacles that adaptation efforts still face. It is only within the past decade that researchers realized that Thorthormi could pose a threat. Thorthormi’s ponds were expanding and merging to form larger bodies of water. The changes have been dramatic even in the past few months. “Just before we started our work here in July this year, that part of the lake was water,” said Karma Toeb, the project’s glaciologist and team leader, pointing down to a number of icebergs. “The ice blocks have been breaking off the mother glacier upstream,” he added.

According to Thinley Namgyel, the deputy chief environment officer at the National Environment Commission in Thimphu, “A few decades down the line, the glaciers will retreat and we are not sure what impact it will have on the economy.” But, the impacts of the melting of the Himalayan glaciers will reach far beyond Bhutan’s borders. The glacier-fed rivers that flow south from the Himalayas are the arteries of south Asia.

It is estimated that the retreat of glaciers will affect the water supply of roughly 750 million people across South Asia and China, according to Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Across Asia, there are countless cases like Thorthormi, where the needs are great and the resources scarce. Regarding the effects of climate change and their costs, “every single estimate that people have come up with has been exceeded by reality”, said Dr. Pachauri. “The impacts of climate change are clearly turning out to be much worse than what we had anticipated earlier,” he added.

Study On Snow and glacier of Sikkim Himalaya

Cause for fear
State concerned by report from UN panel on global warming, glacial melting.

Will assess potential impact of climate change on its eco-system, livelihood.

Receding glaciers may be disastrous to hydel power plants being built.



Gangtok, October15: Alarmed by the steady rate at which glaciers in the Himalayas are receding, the Sikkim Government has constituted a Commission to study the state of the glaciers and its impact on the water system in this tiny Himalayan State.

The nine-member Commission is headed by Prof. S. Hasnain, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.

The Commission will review the current status of glaciers and snowmelt and potential impact of climate change on the mountain eco-system and suggest measures for modem scientific and technological intervention.

The Commission will also compile information from primary and secondary sources on glaciology, assess the potential impact of climate change on the mountain eco-system and livelihood in Sikkim, and suggest inter-disciplinary remedial steps.

Hydro projects


This has come at a time when the Sikkim Government has drawn up ambitious plans to harness the vast hydro-power potential of the State and has 23 hydro power projects in the pipeline.

Six mega power projects are being planned on the Teesta, the biggest river in the State, of which the 510-MW Teesta Stage V power project is nearly complete and is scheduled to be commissioned in December.

Sikkim has large number of glaciers which are natural reservoirs for the supply of water to the major river systems of the State. Reports by the UN inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change regarding global warming and glacial melting have set alarm bells ringing in the State.

Likely impacts


The receding glaciers and recurring phenomenon of glacial lake-outburst floods that have been recorded in the entire eastern Himalayan region, could directly impact the livelihood of a huge mass of hill and mountain people, as well as prove disastrous to the array of hydel power plants being built in the Teesta and other river basins in Sikkim and neighbouring States like West Bengal.

The Chief Minister, Mr Pawan Chamling, had written to the Prime Minister in August, extending the State Government’s keenness to be associated with the working of the high level advisory group on climate change — the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change — constituted by the Union Government.

By Sarikah Atreya

Arnold invites Sikkim CM to Climate Summit 2 in LA

The Governor of California, USA , Arnold Schwarzenegger has extended a personal invitaion to Chief Minister of Sikkim, Dr. Pawan Chamling to attend the 2nd Governor’s Global Climate Summit in Los-Angeles,USA.

Governor Schwarzenegger plows on for his green agenda by announcing the Governor's Global Climate Summit 2: On the Road to Copenhagen. The summit will be held in Los Angeles from September 30th to October 2nd. For a second year climate leaders from around the world will gather to collaborate on efforts to further the global fight against climate change. Following 2008's successful meeting, this year’s effort will continue to expand the network of subnational cooperation to stimulate economic growth, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, create green jobs, promote clean energy solutions and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

The summit, co-hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger and other U.S. Governors including Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, brings together like-minded leaders from different countries and cultures to share policies and strategies on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing green economies.

Dr. Chamling is a well-known environmentalist and recognized by the Centre for Science and Environment in 1999 as the Chief Minister most committed and dedicated to environment and sustainable development.

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment has put on record that the exemplary work done by Dr. Chamling towards protection of environment and biodiversity has created a safe environment for the people of Sikkim. There is, in fact, no second opinion that he fully deserved the title “Greenest Chief Minister of India ” conferred upon him in the year 1999.

In his letter addressed to Sikkim CM, the California Governor has requested the Chief Minister to join him, other US Governors and invited leaders from around the world at 2nd historic summit in the fight against global warning. He has stated in his letter that global climate crisis requires global solutions with input from leaders at all levels of government and society.
The cultural, social and geographic diversity of the states of India reflect the many ways USA and India can work together to overcome the common challenges, the governor adds and continues that “This summit will help us implement policies that promote economic vitality around the world and move closer to victory in the fight against global climate change”.

Sikkim's largest glacier melting

Gangtok , Aug6: Alarmed over reported shrinkage of the 26 km Zemu glacier in the eastern Himalayas, which is the main source of water for Teesta river, due to global warming, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has sought an"authentic report"on the issue.

At a meeting with Forest department officials, Chamling sought an&aposauthentic report&aposabout the glacier receding , an official release said today.

In an interim report presented to the state government earlier this year, it was revealed that the glacier has shrunk by three to six meters.

The report said that in some cases the recession of pristine glaciers was caused by under-construction power projects which raised the temperature affecting the ecology and environment of the state.

A status report on all glaciers was prepared by a study team comprising eminent experts at the initiative of the Science and Technology department last year.

Sikkim has the largest number of 84 glaciers, with Zemu being the biggest.

Forest and Wildlife Secretary S T Lachungpa said he would soon form a committee on climate change to study the impact of global warming on glaciers in the Himalayan state before compiling a report.

It would take a couple of months to study the physical status of the Zemu glacier, he said.
PTI

ZEMU GLACIER SHELF BREAK - a rumour or reality

The Zemu glacier is situated in a large U-shaped valley at the base of the Kanchenjunga massif in northwestern Sikkim. It has a length of about 26 km and is the largest and the most famous glacier of the eastern Himalaya. The Teesta River rises from the snout of this glacier.
Many tributary glaciers feed the trunk glacier. The side valleys in which these glaciers lie open into the main Zemu Valley from different directions. Icefalls and waterfalls have formed at the junction of the tributary glaciers with the Zemu glacier.

There was unconfirmed reports coming regarding breaking of the Zemu glacier today.Zemu Glacier shelf is break and a significant driving in Teesta river is shown, which may cause danger for river bank side inhabitants, a source said last night telephonically. This flow may collapse, and damage the surrounding bedrock. News on Zemu Glacier shelf break is rumor relating a fact that a blocked was made after land slide on the path of Zemu Chu* (Poke Chu). The blocked was opened yesterday which cause for significant water flow in river Teesta is rumored as Zemu glacier shelf break, government official said today telephonically. (* river)