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 …
A mapping study carried out by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission for the period between 2008 and 2013 has shown that snow cover over the Indus River basin during the winter of last year was greater. If meteorological conditions remain average, it is expected that rivers this year …
TanDEM-X SAR mission was launched in June, 2010 with an aim to generate high resolution global DEMs of HRTI-3 specification. Considering this, it is very important to evaluate the accuracy of the DEM generated using TanDEM-X InSAR data over the rugged terrains of Indian Himalayas. This paper presents the results …
A holistic perspective on changing rainfall-driven flood risk is provided for the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Economic losses from floods have greatly increased, principally driven by the expanding exposure of assets at risk. It has not been possible to attribute rain-generated peak streamflow trends to anthropogenic climate change …
Studies and investigations taken up by the Central Groundwater Board and other agencies have helped generate a vast amount of data in a comprehensive manner which has been collated to provide a glimpse of ground water scenario of the Himalayan regions. The hill areas represent a complex hydrogeological set up …
Construction of hydro power projects in a planned manner is unlikely to interfere with stability of the Himalayas which offer maximum unexploited hydro power potential, says an expert. “Scientists fear that the calamity in Uttarakhand a few months ago is a precursor to bigger and more destructive floods. So more …
The government of Norway has agreed to provide $25 million to support the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (Icimod), an INGO, in sustainable mountain development for improved livelihood. An agreement was signed between Kjell Tormod Pettersen, the ambassador of Norway to Nepal and David Molden, Icimod director general. The …
Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Wednesday that the presence of Indian forces on Siachen glacier is a serious environmental threat to Pakistan. BBC Urdu and DawnNews and other Pakistani TV channels quoted Mr Aziz as saying in a radio interview …
India will soon establish a research station to carry out cryosphere studies in the Himalayas. Cryosphere is a term for the regions, which are covered in ice and snow either seasonally or all year round. Rasik Ravindra, Panikkar professor at the ministry of earth sciences, New Delhi and former director …
Annual rate of deforestation in Pakistan ranges from 4-6 per cent, while carbon dioxide emissions are increasing annually at the rate of 8-10 per cent which is an alarming trend. The annual cost of restoring environment degraded as a result of this is up to US$ 5.2 billion. Ministry of …
The United Nation's panel of climate experts revised estimates of historical greenhouse gas emissions, made in September, both up and down on Monday but said the errors did not affect conclusions that time was running out to limit global warming. More heatwaves, floods and rising sea levels are forecast in …
While tourist places like Manali and Dalhousie have witnessed early snowfall this year resulting into tourism boom, Shimla is still awaiting season's first snowfall. Global warming has not only resulted in rise in temperature, but has also affected snow and rain pattern in the region. Temperatures in the north-western Himalayan …
World Bank has released a new report -- On Thin Ice: How Cutting Pollution can Slow Warming and Save Lives. The report that talks about ways to mitigate the effects of climate change says fast action to cut common pollutants like soot (also known as black carbon) and methane will …
A new scientific report shows that by moving rapidly to reduce pollutants such as methane and black carbon, could slow warming in critical snow and ice-covered regions while benefitting human welfare. Continued melting in snow and ice-covered regions will rise sea levels further, threaten water resources, and release more carbon …
A Planning Commission panel recently recommended allocation of 2 per cent of annual gross budgetary support (to the Twelfth Plan) per year to the 11 Himalayan states, including seven in the Northeast. The amount, at current levels would work out to be about Rs 10,000 crore, to be earmarked for …
Holy smoke arising from Hindu funeral pyres, Muslim cemeteries and Buddhist temples are responsible for almost a quarter of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming on the Indian subcontinent and the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, a new study has claimed. Researchers have long suspected that the rituals of …
LONDON: Holy smoke arising from Hindu funeral pyres, Muslim cemeteries and Buddhist temples are responsible for almost a quarter of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming on the Indian subcontinent and the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, a new study has claimed. Researchers have long suspected that the rituals …
Verifiers from Germany will visit Himachal to quantify the carbon credits generated under the mid-Himalayan project being run under the aegis of the World Bank. Sources said a team of verifiers would arrive in Himachal on October 24 and visit various spots developed across the state, including 14 spots under …
By building dams in the Himalayas, Chinese engineers are tinkering with one of the world’s great sets of watersheds. Five great streams—the Red River, the Yangzi, the Irrawaddy, the Salween and the Mekong—flow within about 180 kilometres (110 miles) of one another from the south-eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, …
The seismic activity in the south of the Pir Panjal range in Doda district is not new and is a continuous process that leads to earthquakes in the region. “The Himalayan region has been witnessing seismic activity on a regular basis. After May 1, it has gone up, particularly in …
IN 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of scientists, said the glaciers of the Himalayas could melt by 2035. This was complete fiction. It also said global surface temperatures would go on rising by about 0.2°C a decade for the next 20 years. They have been …
