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 …
All the countries in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas are party to the CBD. However, only a few of them have ABS policies and laws, and these are at different stages of implementation. Central to the delay is a lack of awareness and understanding of ABS and the key components of an …
so far climate change study models have ignored how carbon emissions contributed to the melting of glaciers. This was not part of climate study models since reliable data on soot emissions was absent. There was, however, evidence for the glacial melt in the Arctic due to the black carbon emissions …
In the middle and greater Himalaya, natural springs are the main source of domestic water consumption, but their discharge does not remain constant with time. Erratic rainfall directly affects the recharging of the spring catchment. In this communication, the behaviour of a perennial spring with rainfall variation is analysed from …
Atmospheric scientist V Ramanathan fromthe Scripps Research Institute, California, USA, says brown clouds heat up the lower atmosphere. He explains to Archita Bhatta how the media misinterpreted their findings What's the study about? It shows the atmospheric brown clouds (ABC) enhanced solar heating of the lower atmosphere by about 50 …
A study was conducted to estimate the rate of solid and dissolved mass denudation from six prominent landuse systems of Bhetagad micro watershed, Gomti basin of Indian Central Himalaya. An investigation was also conducted to assess the seasonal variation in water quality parameters influenced by rainwater in the four sub-catchments …
This study investigates the impact of climate change on glaciers and glacial lakes in two major glacial hotspots in the Himalayas: the Dudh Koshi sub-basin in the Khumbu-Everest region in Nepal, and the Pho Chu sub-basin in Bhutan. The focus was on changes in the number and size of glacial …
a study claims the maximum temperature over the northwestern Himalayas is increasing at a much faster rate than the minimum temperature. Another study claims it is just the opposite for most of the northern hemisphere, where the minimum temperature is rising faster than the maximum temperature. Change in temperature affects …
global warming is for real, say researchers at Ohio State University, usa. They have presented startling evidence of global warming affecting the tropics at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lonnie Thompson, along with his team, has been carrying out research on glaciers and …
people from Uttaranchal's Rudraprayag district have revived 16 drying springs in their valleys with innovative research. Using the isoptope technique (see box: Nature's mystery), they tracked the origin and natural recharge zones of the streams, and accordingly, built rainwater harvesting structures to augment the discharge of springs and raise the …
The Himalayas possess one of the largest resources of snow and ice, which act as a huge freshwater reservoir. Monitoring the glaciers is important to assess the overall reservoir health. In this investigation, glacial retreat was estimated for 466 glaciers in Chenab, Parbati and Baspa basins from 1962.
A number of dimensions and resources need to be converged for preparing a roadmap to sustainability. The most critical among these are technical know-how, human capital and financial resources. This document is an effort towards presenting a basic framework for the mobilization of these resources and dimensions. The document has …
This book reports on the work carried out by the research project 'Kyoto: think global act local", which aims to bring local sustainable forest management projects under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The book draws on work carried since 2003 at three sites in India and Nepal. In India, …
The shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir hit the headlines for a strange reason this summer. The shiva ling, a naturally-formed ice stalagmite in the Amarnath cave, melted. Public attention was suddenly called to global warming. Himalayan glaciers cover an area of about 23,000 sq km in India
From atop the 13,600-ft high windswept crest of a steep, serrated ridge, the Samudra Tapu glacier is a giant blanket of ice and snow, covering the bowl-shaped valley between jagged Himalayan peaks in the wilderness of Himachal Pradesh. Gleaming against an azure sky, the gigantic glacier-the second biggest in the …
Entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to rain-induced (torrential rainfall) hazards in the form of flash flood, cloudburst or glacial lake outburst flood. Flash floods and cloudburst are generally caused by high intensity rainfall followed by debris flow or landslide often resulting into blockade of river channels. The examples of some …
The Himalayan region has been recognised as a biodiversity hotspot, harbouring ecosystems more diverse than even the Amazon. But a recent study, led by M K Pandit of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment, Delhi University, sounds a warning. It claims forests in the Himalaya are …
The Sikkim government has decided to recruit villagers as honorary mountain guardians or Himal Rakshaks. The decision has already been notified in the state gazette, which says that only villagers with high concern for wildlife conservation and "clean personal records residing in high altitude regions will be recruited for the …
