Melting Up Of Himalayan Glaciers- Significance, Causes, Impacts, Preventions

The Great Himalayas, consisting of a series of parallel ranges and having about 2500km length from west to east stands like a great wall on the northern side of the Indian continent. The most significant geographical structure of India influences our nation in such a way that no other mountain system has influenced any other nation.

PHYSICAL BARRIER
It acts as a compound wall that separates India from Central and East Asian countries. It also accounts for the difference in climatic and weather patterns between the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia.

NATURAL FRONTIER
The Himalayas acts as a defense barrier and has been protecting India from foreign invasions since early times. History gives us the evidence that no invaders attacked India after crossing the Himalayas. Even though China’s aggression is an exception, the significance of Himalayas cannot be ignored completely.

CLIMATIC INFLUENCE
The Himalayas play a very important role in influencing the climate of India. India is a monsoon land only because of the presence of Himalayas. It traps the monsoon winds from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and forces them to shed their moisture content within the Indian sub-continent in the form of snow and rain. It also blocks the cold winter storms of East Asia from entering India, thus protecting us from severe cold. The Himalayas splits the westerly jet streams into two branches such that the southward branch entering India plays a significant role in bringing the monsoon.

SOURCE REGION OF RIVERS
The Himalayas is the abundant reservoir of Great Indian rivers such as Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra. The snowmelt in summer and precipitation in winter makes them perennial rivers. i.e, having water throughout the year. The abundant waterfall, huge snowfield, and large glaciers feed these drainage systems. The Himalayan rivers give life to northern India.

FERTILITY OF SOIL
The entire northern plains were made by the Himalayas. The Himalayan Rivers carry slits on their way down and deposit in the northern plain. These alluvial deposits are responsible for the high fertility of this land. Therefore, it is often said that the northern great plain is a gift of Himalayas.

HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECTS
The Himalayan valley with natural waterfalls offers the best location for the construction of dams. The vast potential of Himalayan rivers offers a great range for the construction of many mainstream dams.

BIODIVERSITY AND VEGETATION
The Himalayan ranges are famous for its rich biodiversity. There is altitudinal zonation of vegetation from the tropic to the alpine. The forests provide fuel woods, medicinal plants and various raw materials that are needed for the forest-based industries. Rich pastures for grazing is also an adding feature of the Himalayas.

AGRICULTURE
The Himalayas do not have many flatlands, so they offer slopes that are terraced for cultivation. The major crop is Rice. Crops like wheat, maize, potatoes, ginger, and tobacco are also cultivated. Tea is a unique crop that grows only on hill slopes. Many fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, mulberries, cherries along with citrus fruits are grown in the Himalayan region.

MINERAL RESOURCES
The Himalayan region contains many valuable mineral resources. The tertiary rocks have a vast potential for mineral oil. Coal is found in Kashmir. Also, minerals such as Copper, Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Antimony, Tungsten, Limestone, Gypsum and Magnetite are also present in the Himalayan locality. The presence of Gold, Silver and other semi-precious and precious stones are also the feature of the Himalayan region.

TOURISM
The beautiful landscapes on the Himalayan mountain offer a great tourist spot. The increasing popularity of winter sports, snowfall, and the cool climate, when neighboring places are under the scorching heat of summer attracts millions of tourists from different parts of the world. Hill stations such as Missouri, Shimla, Kulu, Manali, Nainital, Chamba, Ranikhet, Almora, Darjeeling, Mirik, Gangtok, etc. provide huge scope of tourism due to its scenic beauty as well as a healthy environment.

PILGRIMAGE
The Himalayas is known as the house of God. Apart from its tourist places, the region is studded with sanctified shrines. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Vaishnodevi, Kailash, Amarnath, Tungnath, Uttarkashi, Gangotri, Yamunotri, etc. which are at high altitudes are famous pilgrim centers in the Himalayas.

Why do Himalayan glaciers melt?

Now, a new study by scientists has found that human-emitted aerosols are the single major contributor to glacial melt in the Himalayas. In this case, increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide are not melting the mountain glaciers. Particulate matter, particularly black carbon from cooking fires and coal-fired plants in India, is the real culprit. These particulates can melt ice in two ways. First, floating in the air, they absorb sunlight and heat the surrounding atmosphere. Warmer air melts glaciers and changes precipitation patterns. In fact, weather stations across India measured a decrease in sunlight reaching the ground of about 0.5 watts per square meter per year between 1964 to 1990. After 1990, that rate of decrease went up to 1.1 watts per square meter per year.

Particulates can also melt the ice when they precipitate out of the air and land on it. Snow and ice normally reflect much of the sun’s energy up to 90 percent back the way it came. But a layer of soot on top of the ice will absorb the sunlight, warm the ice beneath, and melt it.

The current study finds that 90 percent of observed Himalayan glacial loss in recent decades is from aerosols. Black carbon soot alone, which occurs when combustion is incomplete, is responsible for 30 percent of that melt.

The amount of soot in the air has increased substantially in the area. Between 1990 and 2000, black carbon emissions from India increased by 46 percent, say the authors. They increased by another 51 percent in the past decade. While some parts of the Himalayas have actually seen an increase in the snow in recent decades, a large swath of the Himalayas has seen a decrease of about 16 percent in the same period. The increases in the snow in some regions are also an effect of black carbon specifically, it heats the atmosphere, increases upward movement, or convection, of air, and that alters precipitation patterns. Rain and snow decrease in some areas and increase in others.

The good news is, while CO2 stays in the atmosphere for a century, black carbon lingers for a much shorter time. So if most of the Himalayan glacial melt observed in recent decades is due to not to increases in carbon dioxide but to more particulate pollution, then it can be much more easily addressed, at least theoretically.

What are the rivers sourced from the Himalayas?

The five main rivers of the Himalayas are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The Himalayas is the birthplace of many important rivers. The rivers of the Himalayas give a new dimension to the beautiful scenic beauty of the Himalayan region. The rivers are the main source of life in those areas. It helps in the formation of the forest belt and irrigation process in these regions.

Jhelum River

The river Jhelum originates from a spring called Verinag, which is 80 km south of Srinagar. It is known worldwide for its pictorial beauty and nine bridges. It is a very wide river and has muddy water. It flows through Srinagar.

Chenab River

The two rivers Chandra and Bhaga merge to form the Chenab River. The Chenab is found in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh. It originates from the snows found at the foot of the main range of Himalaya in the Spiti and Lahaul district. The beautiful lake of Chandra Tal originates from these rivers.

Ravi River

With this river, lots of love legends are associated. The town of Chamba is situated on a mountain shelf on the right bank of the river. The region is famous for handicrafts like embroidered handkerchiefs, silver and leathercraft, and woodcarving.

Beas River

The valley of Kullu and Kangra is formed by river Beas. It is famous for its beauty. But the river mainly originates from a structure like an igloo near Rohtang Pass in Pir Panjal range to the north of Kullu. The main force of this river is towards the south of Larji and then towards the west. There it enters the Mandi district and further still into Kangra. All its tributaries are perennial because it is snow-fed. Its water increases to a great extent during the monsoon season so much so that it causes floods in its surrounding areas. The Pong Dam is constructed on the river to generate hydroelectric power supply. At a place called Pandoh in the Mandi district the water of the Beas River has been diverted through a 53 km long tunnel to the Sutlej.

Sutlej River

River Sutlej originates from the southern slopes of the holy mountain Kailash, near the lake of Mansarovar. It flows parallel to the Himalayas and finally penetrates to the Shipki pass. It cuts through the Zanskar range and makes a deep gorge at the base of the Kinner Kailash massif. Within Kinnaur district, it runs parallel to the Hindustan-Tibet Road. Later at Karcham, in Kinnaur, it is joined by river Baspa that drains the Sangla valley.

Among the other important Himalayan Rivers are Indus River, Ganga River, Yamuna River, Brahmaputra River, and Spiti River.

Indus River

It originates near the Mansarovar Lake on the Tibetan plateau. It meets with River Gurtang at an altitude of 4,200 m in the southeastern Ladakh, where it enters the Himalayas. Then it follows the northwest course between the Ladakh range in the north and the Zanskar Range in the south. Places like Leh, Marol, Skardu, and Bunji have grown along the Indus River in Ladakh.

Ganga River

Ganga River is considered the holy river of India. In the Hindu religion, it is held in high regard. Ganga or the Ganges is the holiest of all rivers. It is a perpetual river, which originates from the Gangotri Glacier located at 14,000 ft at the foothills of the Himalayas in north Uttar Pradesh. River Bhagirathi, which joins with Alaknanda, to form river Ganga at the town of Devprayag. It is considered one of the most auspicious and holy rivers of India.

Yamuna River

The origin of river Yamuna or Jamuna is from the Bundar Poonch glaciers located in the district of Uttarkashi of the state of Uttaranchal. It grows from Jamunotri, in the Himalayas. The river flows towards the south direction through the Himalayan foothills and onto the plains of north India along the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana State border.

Brahmaputra River

Brahmaputra River is considered one of the great rivers of Asia. It starts its 3000 km journey from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet to the Bay of Bengal. It commences as Tibet’s great river the Tsangpo, and then it finally turns south where it emerges in Arunachal Pradesh as the Dong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit where it finally becomes the Brahmaputra. This is the course of the river Brahmaputra.

Spiti River

The Spiti River originates from the Kunzum Pass, which is 16,000 ft high. The valley of Spiti is named after this river. It joins the Sutlej River near the village of Namgiya in Kinnaur district after flowing for about 60 miles.

Impact of melting glaciers

The Himalayan glaciers are the water towers of Asia, and the source of many of the world’s great rivers: The Yangtze, the Ganges, the Indus, and the Mekong. Over a billion people depend directly on the Himalayas for their survival, with over 500 million people in South Asia, and another 450 million in China completely reliant on the health of this fragile mountain landscape.

Climate change in the Himalayas poses a serious threat to the source of these great rivers with dire and far-reaching impacts on biodiversity, food, water and energy security. Vulnerable nations must, therefore, move rapidly to build resilience to these impacts and adapt to the changing climate.

More than 700 million people in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan get their water from rivers that come from the Himalayan glaciers. These glaciers, like others in the world, are at risk of melting because of increasing temperatures and erratic weather patterns. Glaciers depend on heavy precipitation to replenish ice on an annual basis. As monsoons in India are disrupted, ice vanishes.

As the glaciers melt, rivers flood. As rivers flood, people, crops, and livestock drown and hydroelectric plants are disrupted. And the weaker monsoons mean less rainfall for the country as a whole, which means drought. Over time, of course, melting glaciers means less flowing water in general, so more drought.  

There are 198,000 glaciers in the world. India contains about 9,000 of them, but these glaciers are mostly unexplored. Other countries have invested far more in scientific expeditions than India. The lack of research prevents the country from fully understanding the state of its glaciers and the risk their loss poses.

There was an expectation that India’s glaciers would hold up better than others because they rely on monsoons as opposed to snowfall. But this hope appears to have been misguided–ice is receding at an alarming rate on some crucial glaciers. This further compounds India’s already substantial exposure to climate change.

 In fact, India has been ranked as the most vulnerable country to climate change. 113 million people in the country are vulnerable to dangerous levels of flooding. More than 300 million are vulnerable to drought and more than 700 million to extreme local storms. Climate change will only accelerate in the years to come as global emissions continue to rise. There is some hope that economies are gradually transforming to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Prevention of Himalayan glacier melting

The structure of a glacier is constantly fluctuating. Melting is natural and is counteracted by falling snow that is compacted into ice and restores the surface area of the glacier. However, with global warming occurring at an unnatural rate, glaciers are melting much faster than they can be replenished. The only way to slow rapid glacial melting is to slow global warming.

Glaciers melt naturally, but in the usual course of things are also restored by additional snowfall. Because rapid glacial melting is caused by global warming, you’d have to slow or stop global warming in order to stop the melt.

Global Warming Issues

Glaciers play a crucial role in the prevention of global warming, acting as giant mirrors, deflecting sunlight from the Earth’s surface back into the atmosphere and regulating the temperature of the planet. Runoff from glacial melting forms rivers that people around the world depend on for freshwater. Today in the Himalayas, people are facing water shortages due to decreased glacial melt.

Humankind has become dependent on the burning of fossil fuels to support our way of life, but it increases global warming at an unnatural rate. To restore the glaciers we need to utilize alternative energy sources, increase our energy efficiency and decrease our individual carbon footprints.

Alternative Energy Solutions

Alternative energy sources provide solutions to global warming. Solar panels are made up of solar cells that trap the heat from the sun and convert it into energy. Wind turbines are towers that use the kinetic energy from the wind to generate power. Geothermal energy utilizes the heat from inside the earth. Biofuels such as ethanol can be produced in your backyard by fermenting and mixing vegetables, fruit and grain waste; ethanol is used to make biodiesel fuel, clean-burning fuel for diesel engines. Electric cars are battery-powered instead of relying on the highly polluting internal combustion engine; hydrogen fuel cells are being developed for these batteries. Tidal and wave power utilize the massive power of the ocean by harnessing the energy with generators placed on the ocean floor.

Individual Solutions

Drive as little as possible. Many urban areas have excellent public transportation networks. You can carpool, bicycle, walk or jog to your destination. Save power at home by taking shorter showers, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, turning off lights when they are not in use, hanging laundry outside to dry and unplugging electronics when they are not being used. These seemingly little things make a big impact if they are done on a large scale, and they’ll go a long way toward reducing your carbon footprint and saving the glaciers.

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