Glacier Hazards: In perception of climate

A issue in present world, which must caught fire is climatic changes, thus the global warming becomes the most considerable phenomena, although it is not a new one to hear about, from past few decades every one talked about it and wrote also, but now it is a time take action and bring our steps ahead to save our climate and indirectly to our future. In comparison to other countries India must considered it as a very serious matter, because of large population so large additive contamination to the nature, fast growing economy thus influencing  the rates of uses of natural resources in terms of increased industrialization, infrastructure, power projects, transport. Now here time comes to become self devoted to protect nature,today it never left a issue to deal only on world's platform but it must deal as a personal issue.

Climate

Recently some studies in India, have reported that the temperature in Indian continent has been continuously increasing. A study conducted by students of IIT Kharagpur has estimated that western India is warming from 0.13 degrees per decade, in which maximum contribution to temperature increase is due to anthropogenic  forcing, which includes the combined effect of green house gases and land use and land cover changes in the region. The contribution to the temperature rise due to land use and cover changes is 0.06 degrees per decade, which is a considerable amount. If the rate of increase remains same, one can imagine the future climatic changes and its consequences, as we already fighting some of the major effects of it, in terms f cloud burst, floods etc. in hilly region. The scenario will be the more worst and un-controllable if the same rates of temperature rise continues.  

Another study purely a temperature data study on Dehra Doon, estimated that the high population growth(114% since year 1991) and urban built-up area growth (230% since year 1982) played a key role in temperature alteration, and also the industrial development policies also led to high population migration in area. They recorded a change of 0.41 degrees in annual mean temperature in period of 41 years (1967 to 2007). All these evidence directly blames us for climatic changes as temperature rise in India, which is leading us towards worst conditions which we can not predict correctly today. 

The world has come on a single platform to fight against climate crises. The united nation had already announced the agenda towards the climate, taking it seriously, which they have showed in UN Climate Summit-2014.

Now here is a time to tie with each other and work for our climate. Today's one step towards saving climate, and controlling it to become more erotic and worst, will brings us a more secure and healthy future......  So come join  hands and "Save The Climate and Bring Back to It's Original"

By:- Rakesh Kumar Verma

Refences:

1. S. Nayak and M. Mandal, 2012."Impact of land-use and land-cover changes on

temperature trends over Western India"

2. Omvir Singh1, Poonam Arya1 and Bhagwan Singh Chaudhary, 2013. "On rising temperature trends at Dehradun in Doon valley of Uttarakhand, India"

Himalayan Ecosystem: In perspective of climate change

Himalayan ecosystem is very complex and fragile in nature, which can be characterized by highly differentiated climatic conditions when going vertically, with a huge store of snow as a glacier and snow sheet thus the abundance of water, very rich in highly sensitive biodiversity. The mountain ranges of Himalaya are highly risky areas for human being due to the threat of natural hazards, like glacial lake outburst floods, high precipitation in forests, vulnerability to earthquake and landslides. The complexity in forest prevents the free access to remote areas which hamper the development in mountain region. The growth and sustainability of agro-biodiversity is mainly influence by the altitude and exposition and crop selection in the region.

Figure-1: Himalaya, India

The localized people of Himalayan region have developed some sophisticated techniques for farming, forestry, for water use and restoration, and communication over steep slopes. The Himalayan ecosystem directly or indirectly affects the life of million people residing in Gangatic region and nearby hill by supplying them drinking water and required minerals to sustain river ecosystem thus the human dependence over it. The inhabitants of Himalaya region also developed with different cultural values. People residing down-slopes of Himalaya and in big cities are also most preferably visit to hilly region for recreation.

The regional and global climatic changes may alter the capacity of Himalayan ecosystem, thus increase threat to supply of goods and services for the inhabitant of Himalaya itself and also for low land people. For a example if we talk about the Himalayan glacial retreat, it exerts a threat of future fresh water supply as we all know that glacier are the huge store of fresh water contains about 75% of total fresh water. Himalaya has the maximum concentration of glaciers. 9.04% of the Himalaya is covered with glaciers, with 30-40% additional area being covered with snow(3). Also the increase glacial retreat increases the disaster vulnerability in area because of having large glacial outburst threat thus increases the concern of human safety. 

Figure-2: Glacier Retreat over Himalayan region

Ladakh, state of India is highly dependent over snow, as snow supports its people’s survival over there. Recent changes in climate cause increase in less snow fall, so there is a decrease in moisture in ground, which severely affects the crops. Some of the villages have left the farming profession because of increased moisture due to melting of snow. Reduction in snow fall also means that less amount of snow fall in glacier but in summers higher rates of snow melting can be observed due to the lack of formation of hard ice crystals of snow because of short period snow fall. The changed pattern of precipitation in the form of rain over high altitudes besides of snow fall, thus increases the rate of glacial melting (2). 

The instability of mountainous slopes affects the frequency and magnitude of land slides in region. Landslides are the common event in the steep slopes of Himalaya due to heavy rainfall which restrict the communication in remote areas by jamming roads. Climatic changes in terms of increase temperature in Himalayan region boosted the frequent and severe fires. According to the sixth five year plan, the forest survey has reported that 55% of forested areas is affected by fires and 78% by grazing. Forest Survey of India Report says that about 50 percent of forest areas in the country are fire prone (ranging from 50 percent in some states to 90 percent in the others). About 6 percent of the forests are prone to severe fire damage (2).

From a scientific point of view, the highly sensitivity of mountain ecosystem provides an opportunity to study, model and analyse the global climatic changes, processes and effects on socio-economic conditions of mountain area(1). The scenario of awareness about the fragile nature and vulnerability of Himalayan ecosystem has increased in last few decades, The importance of fragile resources in context of changing climate and difficult living condition of inhabitant of Himalaya has significant role in understanding the global changes over time. With the time the need of understanding the global change processes and in the same aspect of understanding Himalayan ecosystem and global change impacts over it, caught a fire.

 References:

1) Global Change and Mountain Regions: An Overview of Current Knowledge

 edited by Uli. M. Huber, Harald K. M. Bugmann, Mel A. Reasoner

2) http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/country/in/in_5.htm

3) http://www.navdanya.org/climate-change/in-the-himalayas