Karakoram range defies global warming trend of Himalayan glaciers melting
Karakoram range defies global warming trend of Himalayan glaciers melting
Chandigarh
The Karakoram range in Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers is defying global warming trends of glaciers reduction by around 15 metres per annum (m/a).
The mean retreat rate of Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers is 14.9 to 15.1 m/a. However, it is measured at 12.7 to 13.2 m/a in Indus, 15.5 to 14.4 m/a in Ganga and 20.2 to 19.7 m/a in Brahmaputra River basins.
The glaciers in the Karakoram range have shown comparatively minor length changes (-1.37 to 22.8 m/a), indicating stable conditions.
This was informed by Indian Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
Rijiju said Himalayan glaciers are presently monitored by various institutes, universities and organizations funded by the Indian government.
“The Himalayan glaciers are monitored for various scientific studies including glacier melting and have reported accelerated heterogeneous mass loss,” he added.
Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through its autonomous institute, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has been monitoring six glaciers in the Chandra basin.
An area of 2437 km2 in the western Himalayas is being monitored by NCPOR since 2013.
A state-of-the-art field research station ‘Himansh’ was established in the Chandra basin which revealed that it has lost about 6% of its glacial area during the last 20 years.
“Annual rate of retreat of Chandra basin glaciers vary from 13 to 33 m/a during the last decade.
Besides, the DST’s Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has been pursuing cryospheric research on different aspects that include glacier dynamics, hydrology and hazards using both satellite data and ground-based observations,” said Rijiju.
WIHG have observed that retreats are 15-20 m/a for the Dokriani Glacier in Bhagirathi basin, 9-11 m/a in Chorabari Glacier in Mandakini basin, 12 m/a at Durung-Drung and 5.6 m/a at Pensilungpa glaciers in Suru basin.
Rijiju said the ISRO’s Space Application Centre (SAC) has mapped 5234 glaciers of the Himalayan-Karakoram (H-K) region using primarily IRS LISS III data.
It indicated varied losses in glacier areas in the region. Geological Survey of India (GSI) along with other institutes and Universities found that the majority of Himalayan glaciers are melting/retreating at varying rates in different regions.
“The melting of glaciers is a natural process and cannot be controlled. The recession or melting of glaciers is mainly caused by global warming and climate change.
Therefore, the rate of melting of glaciers can’t be prevented or slowed down, unless all the factors responsible for global warming and climate change can be controlled,” he added.
