The HKH Snow Update 2025 highlights a significant decline in seasonal snow across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, with snow persistence 23.6% below normal — the lowest in 23 years. This trend, now in its third consecutive year, threatens water security for nearly two billion people. All twelve major river …
Landslides, floods, and droughts are recurring natural disasters in Nepal related to too much or too little water. The summer monsoon contributes more than 80% of annual rainfall, and rainfall spatial and inter-annual variation is very high. The Gandaki River, one of the three major rivers of Nepal and one …
In polar environments, a lack of empirical knowledge about biodiversity prompts reliance on species distribution models to predict future change, yet these ignore the role of biotic interactions including the role of long past human exploitation. To explore how mammals of extreme elevation respond to glacial recession and past harvest, …
Chemical weathering of continental rocks plays a central role in regulating the carbon cycle and the Earth's climate, accounting for nearly half the consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide globally. However, the role of climate variability on chemical weathering is still strongly debated. Here we focus on the Himalayan range and …
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has sought the constitution of a Central Himalayan Council on the lines of the North-Eastern Council for the development of Himalayan states like Uttarakhand. Rawat was addressing the maiden meeting of NITI Aayog in Delhi today. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand has limited …
In an attempt to bring people closer to forests in Uttarakhand, the Harish Rawat government in last one year did try to involve them in environment conservation with its Chief Minister’s flagship Hamara Ped Hamara Dhan Yojana. The scheme is meant to encourage plantation of saplings in private lands. Forest …
A panel of experts appointed by the Himachal Pradesh government has said that popular opposition to large hydel power projects on the Sutlej is being fanned by the establishment’s “indifference” to the problems of the people. The panel has rejected the conclusions of a report prepared earlier for the union …
Gone are the days when steady and gradual decrease in temperature used to show signs of perfect weather for snowfall on western Himalayas. Weather now changes its patterns so rapidly that snowfall sometime occurs few hours after the temperature was many notches above freezing point, claim scientists. Increasing human activities …
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said India's commitment and the corresponding efforts in pursuing clean and renewable energy path demonstrated the country's leadership in combating climate change. Speaking at the conference "Negotiating the Climate Cliff: India's Climate Policy and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)", he said: "In India's case, …
Cold wave conditions continued unabated in north India today with the mercury hovering below normal levels in most parts and hilly areas reeling under freezing conditions. Intermittent snowfall continued in the Kashmir valley, while heavy snowfall and rain lashed higher reaches in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In the national capital, …
The paper addresses on the devastating episode (17-18 June 2013) at Kedarnath (Uttrakhand, India). The disaster caused huge loss of lives and physical/material wealth. To understand this catastrophic event, rainfall/convective data and associated climate meteorological parameters are investigated to understand the causes of disaster. The cause of disaster seems to …
Like other mountainous areas, Nepal is highly vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and this vulnerability has increased due to climate change. Risk reduction strategies must be based on a comprehensive risk assessment. A comprehensive methodological approach for GLOF risk assessment is described and illustrated in case studies of …
Degraded soils do not hold healthy forests. The scientists and foresters need to explore the causes of forest degeneration, said Uttarakhand Governor Dr KK Paul. He was speaking at the conclusion of the international symposium on transforming mountain forestry organised at the Forest Research Institute by the institute in collaboration …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Court own its Motion Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors. dated 21/01/2015 regarding the feasibility of a rope way at Vashishtha to Rohtang Pass. The case relates to the ecology and environmental maintenance of this eco-sensitive area. Previous Order
A month’s walk from the nearest sea, Kathmandu -- elevation almost a mile -- is as vulnerable to climate change as the world’s coastal megacities. The capital of the poorest Asian country after Afghanistan already is feeling the effect: Rising temperatures are crimping power and food supplies as rural migrants …
Vulnerable India - Mainstreaming adaptation and building resilience, presentation by Chandra Bhushan at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) book launch of Rising to the Call - Good Practices of Climate Change Adaptation in India at IHC, New Delhi.
Supreme Court advocate and environment activist Ritwick Dutta believes that people in rural areas are more aware of laws relating to environment compared to those in urban areas when it comes to conservation of the environment. Dutta told The Tribune that it was interesting that villagers had a better understanding …
Recent literature has shown that surface air temperature (SAT) in many high elevation regions, including the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been increasing at a faster rate than at their lower elevation counterparts. We investigate projected future changes in SAT in the TP and the surrounding high elevation regions (between 25°–45°N …
In view of increasing instances of natural disasters, there is a need for a new strategy for environment and ecological conservation for development in the Himalayan region. The eminent scientists and environmentalists who participated in a recent national seminar at SRT campus Badshahithaul here said that though the development of …
The National Climate Change Conference held at the bank of magnificent Rara Lake in Mugu district of Karnali has concluded with a nine-point declaration. The conference organized jointly by Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) was attended by around 200 officials …
Large scale hydro power projects being built on the Ganga and its sub-tributaries such as Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Dhaulli Ganga, Kanchan Ganga, Pindar, Mandakini and Nandakini are major factors affecting the local ecology. These hydro projects, that have mushroomed in the sensitive seismic zone of Uttarakhand in the past decade, are …
