The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Glaciers in the Satluj river basin in western Himalaya are likely to lose 33% of their area by 2050 and 81% by the end of the century, under Representative Concentration Pathway - RCP 8.5 scenario, based on the output from CNRM-CM5 and GFDL-CM3 climate models respectively. Original Source
The present study was carried out to assess floristic diversity, community composition and regeneration status of different forests in Nanda Devi National Park after prohibition of human activities in 1983 with a view to understand the impact of ban, and provide a basis for assessing subsequent changes on plant diversity …
Aerosols play an important role in climate change processes. Among the various aerosols, black carbon (BC) has been recognized as the second most important anthropogenic agent for climate change and the primary tracer for adverse health effects caused by air pollution. The increasing concentration of BC in the atmosphere has …
Precipitation samples were collected across the Himalayas from Kashmir (western Himalaya) to Assam (eastern Himalaya) to understand the variation of the stable isotopic content (δ 18O and δD) in precipitation associated with two dominant weather systems of the region: western disturbances (WDs) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM). Original Source
Religious and traditional beliefs, cultural mores, and practices play a crucial role in the conservation of environment and biodiversity. The present paper describes a case study of two sacred groves in Western Himalaya. Sacred groves (SGs) are patches of land that are communally protected with religious zeal. A preliminary survey …
The history of glacier length fluctuations serves as a reliable indicator of the past climate. In this paper, a numerical flowline model has been used to study the relationship between length variations of Chhota Shigri glacier and local climate since 1876. The simulated front positions of Chhota Shigri glacier are …
Hamtah and Chhota Shigri are two nearby, well monitored glaciers of western Himalaya, lying in the same climatic zone and driven by the same climatic conditions. In this study, topographical characteristics of both the glacier have been explored to understand the role of topography in controlling the glacier response. Further, …
Long-term measurements (from August 2009 to December 2014) of aerosol black carbon mass concentration (MBC) and spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) were carried out from a high-altitude location, Hanle in western trans-Himalaya as part of the Regional Aerosol Warming Experiment. Original Source
Physico-chemical properties of soil of two dominant forest types in Western Himalaya, viz. oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and pine (Pinus roxburghii) across three soil depths, and winter and rainy seasons were analysed. In general, all the soil parameters, viz. soil moisture, water-holding capacity, organic carbon and total nitrogen decreased significantly with …
A study based on farm household survey was conducted in mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh to gain insights on people s perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability. Results of the study indicated that 88.9 % of people perceived rise in temperature of the region while 88.4 % perceived a …
Western disturbances have a long history of climatological, synoptic and satellite observations based studies. In present study an attempt has been made to understand the different aspects of western disturbances like movement, associated convection, induce systems and associated weather. The western disturbances (WDs) during post monsoon and winter season have …
How well do the IPCC-AR4 models simulate the observed 20th century warming as well as its future projection over the Western Himalayan region of India? - A presentation by Dr. L. Das and M. Dutta at the 4th National Research Conference on Climate Change, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, October …
Forests meet 40% of the energy needs of India and about 30% of fodder needs of the cattle population. Agriculture along with animal husbandry is the principal occupation and source of livelihood for over 70% of the population of Western Himalaya. Like with other high-altitude communities, animal husbandry is practised …
The present study was carried out in parts of a protected area of Garhwal Himalaya, namely, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS). The main aim of the study was to gather and analyze information from the sanctuary dwellers on conservation of natural resources and its value focusing on the needs of local …
The present study tested the hypothesis that "game species are lost when forest areas are subjected to hunting and populations of already threatened species may become locally extinct from many forests of the Western Indian Himalaya". The study was designed to determine effects of vegetation structure and heterogeneity, and behaviour …
Glaciers of the Himalaya contribute significantly in the processes linking atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere, thus need to be monitored in view of the climatic variations. In this direction, many studies have been carried out during the last two decades and satellite-based multispectral data have been used extensively for this purpose …
The article highlights the regression models to estimate the biomass of twelve shrub species commonly found in the Western Himalaya. After analysis it was found that for most of the species log linear and curvilinear prediction equation gave coefficient of determination with higher value which show the fitness of the …
This correspondence refers to a recent note about monitoring alpine treeline in the Western Himalaya and few other recent studies on the same aspect. Alpine zones in the Himalayas are the highest vegetation zones where seedbearing plants are found, but tree growth is excluded. Upper and lower boundaries of alpine …
The IPCC in its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) described the Himalayan Region as data-deficient in terms of climate monitoring. This is a serious impediment to global research initiatives and thus necessitates long-term ecological monitoring (LTEM) across the Himalaya. Being governed by low temperature conditions, the high-altitude regions in Himalaya are …
Pollen record of an AMS radiocarbon dated lacustrine sediment profile underlying the Chandra peat deposit in Himachal Pradesh, yielded signatures of the globally reported Younger Dryas (YD) cold event. This report of the YD event in NW Himalaya, substantiated by mineral magnetic variations, also records significant wet and warm conditions …
