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 …
At geological time scales, the role of continental erosion in the organic carbon (OC) cycle is determined by the balance between recent OC burial and petrogenic OC oxidation. Evaluating its net effect on the concentration of carbon dioxide and dioxygen in the atmosphere requires the fate of petrogenic OC to …
Increasing amount of soot, sulphates and other aerosol components in atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) are causing major threats to the water and food security of Asia and have resulted in surface dimming, atmospheric solar heating and soot deposition in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan-Tibetan (HKHT) glaciers and snow packs. These have given …
Geography coupled with high levels of poverty and population density has rendered South Asia especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The impacts of climate change in the form of higher temperatures, more variable precipitation, and more extreme weather events are already felt in South Asia.
Mountains are among the most fragile environments on earth but, at the same time, are also rich repositories of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the sources of much of the water that sustains life on the planet. The influence that mountain ecosystems exert on their neighbouring environments extends far beyond …
The inventory and assessment of biodiversity resources have become essential for policy-making and management strategies as well as for developing and testing scientific hypotheses. There is an increasing need to compile mountain biodiversity databases and to make them available on-line. At the forefront of this work is an initiative lead …
The array of green valleys along the mighty Himalayas including that of North East might look enchanting. But lakhs of people living in the beautiful land are creating enough pollution, which could affect the rain formation on top of the biggest mountain range. In the long run this would adversely …
Can Bihar avert another Kosi disaster? On September 16, the Special Task Force constituted by the prime minister put a figure on the destruction caused by floods in Bihar
Higher levels of pollution in Asia may affect the formation of clouds high in the Himalayas, perhaps disrupting monsoons and speeding a thaw of glaciers, according to a study on Monday. The report, by scientists in France and Italy, found microscopic particles in the air that can be seeds for …
Rising air pollution levels in South Asia will have worldwide environmental consequences. Transport of pollutants from the densely populated regions of India, Pakistan, China, and Nepal to the Himalayas may lead to substantial radiative forcing in South Asia with potential effects on the monsoon circulation and, hence, on regional climate …
A considerable amount of research has focused on how and when the Tibetan plateau formed in the wake of tectonic convergence between India and Asia1. Although far less enquiry has addressed the controls on river incision into the plateau itself, widely accepted theory predicts that steep fluvial knick points (river …
The Chenab Valley in Urgam Reserve Forest of Chamoli District (Uttarakhand), was surveyed during March-April 2005, to estimate abundance and record observations on the group sizes, sex ratios and habitat utilization pattern of Himalayan tahr and Goral.
Satellite-enhanced rainfall estimation appears to offer an effective and viable alternative means for estimating precipitation. Satellite-improved rainfall estimates for the HKH region delivered in a timely fashion will facilitate the use of regional flood-information systems. These estimates, enhanced by gauge data, will improve rainfall analyses that are currently interpolated solely …
Pack animals help reduce carbon dioxide pack animals, including horses and mules, are known to transport pilgrims and goods. Now, these animals serve another important purpose, a study has shown. They help reduce CO2 emissions. This, researchers concluded after studying six major valleys
ICELAND President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson during his recent visit to Dhaka proposed the creation of a Himalayan council with nations of the Himalayan region to address the 'regional concerns' over climate change suggesting it could initially serve as a forum for promotion of the necessary researches and play a role …
Unfulfilled promises; villagers hanging loose On July 24 this year, a school block near the Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project in Sunagarh, Uttarkashi district, gave away as the rocks under it had become unstable. The subsequent landslide kept the highway blocked for the next three days.
Dam makers rake in the moolah irrespective of the amount of electricity projects generate TWO issues back this magazine had done a detailed analysis of the wind energy sector in the country. We told you how wind turbines were being installed in increasing numbers, but performed at a dismal level …
The results of trend analyses of the discharge data of four rivers in northwestern Himalaya, namely Beas, Chenab, Ravi and Satluj, are presented here and the impact of climate change in the last century is discussed. In the case of Satluj river, studies indicate an episodic variation in discharge in …
This report presents South Asia-wide review of climate change adaptation research, intended to identify present knowledge, gaps on adaptation and application including the practice of research. This scoping study makes a distinction between planned and autonomous adaptation strategies including ways in which social and physical infrastructure enable adaptation. This chosen …
Wild vegetable with high iron and calcium content A large number of people in the Himalayan region, particularly in remote areas, depend on a variety of plants. In far-flung rural settlements, where vegetable cultivation is not practised and market supplies are not organized, local inhabitants depend on indigenous vegetables, both …
