The Himalayan region is displaying accelerated heterogeneous mass loss and glacier melting as climate change leading to a rise in temperatures wreaks havoc, several studies have revealed, Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences and Science & Technology Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha. The Centre has carried out several studies and maintains data on melting Himalayan glaciers. These studies revealed that the mean retreat rate of the Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers was 14.9 ± 15.1 metre/annum, varying from 12.7 ± 13.2 metre/annum in the Indus, 15.5 ± 14.4 metre/annum in the Ganga, and 20.2 ± 19.7 metre/annum in the Brahmaputra basins. However, glaciers in the Karakoram have shown minor length change (-1.37 ± 22.8 metre/annum), indicating stable conditions.
Institutes and universities, including the Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, National Institute of Hydrology, Space Application Centre, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) monitor the Himalayan glaciers for various studies.
The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, through the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, has been monitoring six glaciers in the Chandra basin in the western Himalayas since 2013. The centre has established a state-of-the-art field research station, Himansh, in in the Chandra basin that has been operational since 2016, to conduct field experiments and expeditions to glaciers. The research station found the rate of annual mass balance (melting) at -0.3±0.06 metre water equivalent per year during 2013-2020.
The Geological Survey of India has studied the melting of nine glaciers by assessing mass balance. It has also monitored the recession/advancement of 76 glaciers in the Himalayan region, the majority of which were observed to be melting/retreating at varying speeds in different regions.
A Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology monitoring programme of glaciers in Uttarakhand revealed that the Dokriani glacier in the Bhagirathi basin was retreating at 15-20 metre/annum since 1995, while the Chorabari glacier in the Mandakini basin was retreating at 9-11 metre/annum during 2003-2017. The institute is also monitoring the Durung-Drung and Pensilungpa glaciers in Ladakh’s Suru basin, which are retreating at 12 metre/annum and ~ 5.6 metre/annum, respectively.
Melting glaciers significantly impact water resources of the Himalayan rivers due to the change in glacier basin hydrology, impact on hydropower plants due to discharge variation, downstream water budget, flash floods, and sedimentation, Singh told the House. They also increase the risk of glacier hazards due to higher number and volume of glacial lakes, accelerated flash floods, and glacial lake outburst floods, and impact farming practices in the high Himalayan region.
IISc Bangalore’s Divecha Centre for Climate Change investigated the Satluj basin and reported that there would be an increase in glacier melt contribution until the middle of the century before a decline. Numerous small glaciers in the basin’s low altitude region indicate significant loss in area till the middle of the century, creating water scarcity during the dry summers.
Glacial melting is a natural process that cannot be controlled, Singh said. However, the melting increases the risk of glacier hazards. Various institutes, organisations, and universities are monitoring the glaciers through remote sensing data at a large scale to assess the calamities associated with the melting.
Recently, the National Disaster Management Authority collaborated with the Swiss Development Corporation to prepare guidelines, compendium, and summary for policymakers on the management of glacial lake outburst floods, he added.
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