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 …
Commercialisation is taking a toll on natural resources, especially medicinal herbs, in the Chhakinal watershed in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. The existing state forest policy does not help conserve resources either. The result is, there is a marked decline in medicinal herbs from the area. Such herbs that were found …
Intense rainfall often leads to floods and landslides in the Himalayan region even with rainfall amounts that are considered comparatively moderate over the plains; for example, ‘cloudbursts’, which are devastating convective phenomena producing sudden high-intensity rainfall (∼10 cm per hour) over a small area. Early prediction and warning of such …
even as official apathy towards reducing seismic hazard continues in India, a computer simulation shows that the next big earthquake in the Himalaya may kill as many as 150,000 people and injure almost twice that number. The study carried out by Max Wyss, director of the Geneva-based World Agency of …
Climatic changes, droughts, floods, heat/cold waves, pests, diseases and poverty dynamics is a complex phenomenon demanding multidisciplinary management of early warning systems, risk assessment, insurance and mitigation.
In the Himalayas, subsistence largely depends upon resources derived from natural forests due to the free and easy access to these and simplicity in their use. Sikkim has 43% of its total geographical area under forest cover, of which 34% is under dense forests. The burgeoning human population and family …
factoring in ocean colour data in the remote sensing technique used for fishery forecasts can vastly improve the reliability of prediction as well as the fish catch, claim Indian scientists. Satellite-based forecasts usually rely only on sea surface temperature data. The method's reliability is just 50 per cent, though it …
The Barsey Sanctuary is a part of the larger Khangchendzonga ecosystem, which is the third highest in the world, and is a part of the Eastern Himalayan Conservation landscape including the Khangchendzonga Conservation Area in Nepal, Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary and Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim and Singalila …
function graph() { var popurl="files/images/20050731/26-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=400,height=300,scrollbars=yes") } Here is a piquant contradiction: forest-rich states in India are beginning to grumble about the natural wealth they possess, and are protecting. In his speech to the 12 th Finance Commission (fc), Virbhadra Singh, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh
the decreasing snow cover in Southwest Asia and the Himalaya is threatening marine life in central and western parts of the Arabian Sea, which lie thousands of kilometres (km) away. According to a study published in Science (April 22, Vol 308, No 5721), reduced winter and spring snow cover in …
WWF sees the impacts of climate change on glaciers and its subsequent impact on freshwater as a major issue, not just in the national context but also at a regional, transboundary level. The WWF offices in Nepal, India and China are taking the initiative to develop a regional collaboration to …
Livestock depredation by the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an increasingly contentious issue in Himalayan villages, especially in or near protected areas. Mass attacks in which as many as 100 sheep and goats are killed in a single incident inevitably result in retaliation by local villagers. This article describes …
Flood hazard is one of the most severe problems in the Himalayan river basins. Although floods are essentially hydrological phenomenon, the uneven distribution of floods in the river basin highlights the control of geomorphological and geological factors. A proper understanding of these factors is critical for a successful flood management …
Ladakh was opened to tourism in 1971. Since then the tourist inflow has increased several times over (see graph: Welcome to Ladakh). Though Ladakh gets more foreign tourists, domestic tourists have increased recently. The biggest tourist activity is trekking and jeep safaris; the biggest tourist attractions of Ladakh are its …
In Ladakhi, lango khel means conquering the highest point of a pass in the mountains. In Ladakhi schools, it means the matriculation (class X) examination. From 1947 to 1998, matriculation results in Leh district hovered between 0-5 per cent. The reasons are not difficult to fathom. Children grew up speaking …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
The endangered cheer, a pheasant found only in a few pockets in the western Himalaya, has been successfully reared in captivity for the first time in India. Lalit Mohan, a zoologist cum forester in the Himachal Pradesh wildlife department, managed the feat at a pheasantry in Chail, a hill resort …
It is widely accepted that panchayati raj is shaping up much better in Leh as compared to other districts of J&K.; The first real panchayat elections in the state were held only in May 2001. Even then, modalities of decentralisation of power to elected village representatives were not issued. After …
