SRINAGAR SEP 18: While climate change has become a concern across the world, it poses a serious threat to the Himalayas and would cause water scarcity in several Asian countries, according to recent studies and experts.
Himalaya is home to 10,000 plant species. Similarly, there are 12,000 glaciers only in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
According to two recent 2023 studies titled ‘Changing climatic scenarios, impacts, vulnerabilities and perception with special reference to the Indian Himalayan’ and ‘Impacts of Climate Change on Plants with Special Reference To The Himalayan Region’, the climate of the Himalayan region is changing at an alarming rate with adverse impacts on agriculture, biodiversity, water resources, livelihood and other ecosystems.
“Some of the effects of climate change on the plants of Himalayan region include the spread of invasive species, pests and diseases, habitat loss, and rise in the frequency and intensity of forest fires and melting of glaciers,” the studies say.
Dr Zishan Ahmad Wani of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Jammu, who is one of the authors of both studies, says that climate change is posing a serious threat to Himalayan biodiversity including glaciers.
“All the studies have been conducted as the Himalayan is especially vulnerable to climate change and is currently undergoing fast changes. The Himalayas have been reported to have a three-fold faster rate of warming than the global average,” Dr Zishan said.
Similarly, another 2023 study titled ‘Assessment of potential present and future glacial lake outburst flood hazard in the Hunza valley: A case study of Shisper and Mochowar glacier’ has been conducted by the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jammu primarily by Hemant Singh, a PMRF fellow under the supervision of Dr Divyesh Varade.
The study says that climate change has resulted in an increase in the occurrence of many natural disasters such as flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the Himalayas.
The researcher of the study, Hemant Singh, said that in the last four decades, climate changes have had a more severe effect in the Himalayan regions as observed by retreating glaciers, declining snow patterns and extreme rainfall.
Adil Ahmad, a geologist based in Kashmir said the glaciers are melting at a rapid pace in the Himalayas. “The Himalayan glaciers and snowfields serve as the source for major rivers like the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Jhelum, Kishenganga, and Sindh, which sustain the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across South Asia. The water from these rivers supports agriculture, hydropower generation, and urban centres downstream. If the glaciers melt at this pace then there could be water scarcity in countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, China and Afghanistan and various sectors will be badly hit,” he said.
