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 …
Nepal, Bhutan and India have agreed to work together to allow the free movement of animal species and address problems of poaching, overgrazing, forest fires and the spread of livestock diseases by developing biodiversity corridors along Mount Kanchanjunga. Rich landscape around the Kanchanjunga range includes 15 protected areas spread across …
Environmentalists are demanding greater environmental management of religious tourism. The death of 98 pilgrims in the Amarnath Yatra has highlighted the need to ensure better man-management in these ecologically-fragile regions. Already, three lakh pilgrims have visited the Amarnath shrine while the number in 2011 was around 7.5 lakhs. Environmentalist Prof. …
Uttar Pradesh, which has about 4,000 mines of coal, silica, bauxite and granite – mostly in Bundelkhand region, has mandated e-tendering for future allotment of mining leases in the state. This step is aimed at preventing hitherto rampant illegal mining and ushering transparency in allotment of mining leases. Under the …
The annual rate of shrinkage is 48.2 metres in terms of length and 0.57 % in terms of area A majority of glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding regions are retreating, according to a study published recently in Nature Climate Change . The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions …
Climate change effects are likely to continue to cause intense flood and drought in Assam. The recent unprecedented floods, accompanied by the erosion of the Brahmaputra, has brought the influencing factors of flood and erosion processes in Assam into focus. First, recent research indicates the likely impact of climate change, …
India's annual monsoon has claimed 109 lives since rains started in June and left at least 400,000 people homeless in the northeastern state of Assam, in a tragedy experts say was made worse by corruption and poor management of the Brahmaputra River. A senior member of the Assam Human Rights …
The majority of glaciers on the Tibetan plateau and in the surrounding region are retreating rapidly, according to a study based on 30 years of satellite and field measurements.
New Delhi: Everything about the Brahmaputra is so grand it seems inevitable that the river’s fury would be larger than life. Experts say the river is prone to flooding due to natural reasons. Yet it’s possible to tackle its fury to an extent. The basin’s topography, water flow and seismicity …
Glaciers nestling under the shadow of Diran and Rakaposhi, two towering peaks in the Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan, remain impervious to global warming and have even grown slightly in recent years, suggests a new study. Bucking regional and global trends that indicate ice loss, French glaciologists have confirmed that …
New Delhi: Snowmelt from the high Himalayas is keeping reservoirs afloat and aiding normal rate of hydel generation in spite of the extended hot spell and a delayed monsoon. Water levels in reservoirs of Bhakra-Beas and Tehri projects — the two main hydel generation plants in the north that use …
The Tibetan Plateau and surroundings contain the largest number of glaciers outside the polar regions. These glaciers are at the headwaters of many prominent Asian rivers and are largely experiencing shrinkage, which affects the water discharge of large rivers such as the Indus. The resulting potential geohazards merit a comprehensive …
This study by the Centre for Development Finance, IFMR & IIT Madras evaluates the design of the eight climate missions as developed by individual ministries using the principles laid out in the National Action Plan on Climate Change. A new study, An Evaluation of India’s National Action Plan on Climate …
Researchers have discovered a new species of badid fish ‘Dario urops' from the Barapole tributary of the Valapattanam river in the Western Ghats. A research team consisting of Ralf Britz from the Natural History Museum, London; Anvar Ali from the Conservation Research Group at St. Albert's College, Kochi; and Siby …
India’s tiger fatalities are rising steadily. The country has lost 48 tigers in the last 22 weeks. The largest number of tigers have been killed in the premier Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and in the Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has confirmed that …
THE Yamuna River is one of the holiest waterways in India. The ghats - the pilgrim-built stone steps at the water's edge - are reminders of the multitudes of worshippers who once came here to pray. But few come to the Yamuna River in Delhi now to bathe in the …
The acute spatial and temporal variations in precipitation patterns have greatly influenced water resources planning, management, and development in India. Specifically, these patterns have led to the development of several water transfer projects in the country. The Inter-Linking of Rivers (ILR) project is a grand example of such a water …
A detailed analytical study of major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+) and anions (SO2− 4 , HCO−3 , Cl−, NO−3 ) of meltwater draining from Gangotri Glacier was carried out to understand major ion chemistry and to get an insight into geochemical weathering processes controlling hydrochemistry of the glacier. In …
Five watersheds (W1, W2, W3, W4 and W5) in the upper Indus basin were chosen for detailed studies to understand the influences of geomorphology, drainage basin morphometry and vegetation patterns on hydrology. From the morphometric analysis, it is evident that the hydrologic response of these watersheds changes significantly in response …
Investigations of aerosol optical and physical characteristics using the application of Ångström formula and second order polynomial fit were carried out from April 2006 to March 2009 at Mohal in the Kullu valley. The measurements of spectral aerosol optical depths (AODs) were conducted using multiwavelength radiometer (MWR). The AOD at …
n the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), 1,200 new species have been discovered in the past 20 years, while on the island of Borneo, scientists have discovered 600 new species in that same time span. The Himalayan mountain range is another biodiversity hotspot with an incredible spectrum of flora and fauna, …
