Posted
on 24 November 2009 - New Delhi, India –Smaller
glaciers in the Himalayas are proving much
more vulnerable to climate change impacts
than previously thought, with significant
implications for the livelihood and freshwater
supplies of millions, according to a new
report by WWF-India and Birla Institute
of Technology (BIT).
Witnessing Change: Glaciers
in the Indian Himalayas analyses continuing
monitoring of two central Himalayan glaciers
since 2006, trying to overcome the lack
of baseline data on glaciers that is hampering
studies of this key climate indicator.
One of the glaciers
studies is Gangotri, a 30 km long glacier
famed and sacred as a principle source of
the Ganges. Overall, nearly 30 percent of
Ganges water comes from snow and glacier
melt, with variations in snowfalls, melt
rates and flow regimes having potentially
profound effects across a huge area of northern
India.
Kafni Glacier, whose
now separate elments are 4.2 kilometres
long, also empties into the headwaters of
the Ganges. Kafni is not only losing ice
faster than Gangotri but its former and
now hanging tributaries are losing ice faster
still.
"need . . . to
better predict future water resource scenarios"
“The rapid decline of
smaller glaciers is of concern,” said Ravi
Singh, Secretary General & CEO of WWF-India.
“These glaciers are perhaps more vulnerable
to local climate variations.
"We see a need
for more long- term and continuous assessment
to monitor the hydro-meteorological parameters
existing in the vicinity of glaciers in
order to better predict future water resource
scenarios.”
The WWF study explores
how the glaciers in the Indian Himalayas
are going through change by using scientific
data as well as empirical evidence of ground
level parameters. In order to understand
the impact of hydro-meteorological parameters,
the team has installed two automated weather
stations– one at Bhojwasa near Gangotri
and another in Kafni.
The initial results
from the field study indicate that the Himalayan
glaciers are retreating, but at a reduced
rate and the larger glaciers like Gangotri
are unlikely to disappear in near future,
due to their large mass balance.
Smaller glaciers like
Kafni are not only retreating at a faster
rate, but are losing more of their glaciated
portion and tributary glaciers- a trend
which has been observed across the Himalayas
for many other smaller glaciers as well.
Changing cropping patterns
The new research says
that the impacts of glacier retreat on the
livelihoods of people, ecosystems and biodiversity
have been underestimated so far. It confirms
visible changes in the social and economic
dimensions of the Himalayan region, in addition
to the climatic variations that this phenomenon
is causing.
Communities living closer
to Gangotri have indicated changes in snowfall
levels in the winter months resulting in
less soil moisture, which in turn is changing
cropping patterns and availability of water.
"Witnessing Change
shows that while science has provided evidence
of changes in glaciers, anecdotal evidence
and observations of the communities provide
evidence of how communities are coping and
managing with change," said Ravi Singh.
The report discusses
the areas of focus needed as way forward,
which includes enhancing the monitoring
of smaller glaciers, addressing the data
challenge, development of regional climate
models and engagement of communities in
developing suitable adaptation responses.
