A scientist from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology highlights how climate change, including glacial retreat, shifting precipitation patterns, and rising nighttime temperatures, is exacerbating the risk of flash floods and landslides in the Himalayas, as seen in recent disasters in Nepal and Uttarakhand.
'The valley is around 16 km from the Nepal border, and it took just 8-10 minutes for the ice and rocks to reach the Nepal border. You can imagine how fast it must have travelled!'
'When a glacier collapse or a major flood event does occur, the water will simply reclaim its original path, and anything built in that path will be swept away.'
'The trigger for the flood was definitely natural, but the damage that it caused was human-made.'
Following devastating flash floods in Nepal, experts are calling for systematic scientific assessments of glaciers to understand and mitigate hazards, alongside the development of a robust land use policy for the Himalayan region. The floods, which killed over 460 people and left thousands missing, are believed to be linked to climate change impacts on glaciers and permafrost.
Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) suggest that an ice-rock avalanche originating in a high-altitude area likely triggered the devastating flash floods that swept across central Nepal districts, killing at least 95 people and leaving nearly 500 missing.
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HMI Principal, Group Captain Jai Kishan, said the institute decided to make the quarantine time useful for the air warriors, who came in batches of 10-12 after their return from holidays, as just remaining locked inside rooms could have caused mental stress to them amid the pandemic situation.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
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'What we are witnessing is not a freak incidence or a freak occurrence, but a new climate reality where warming oceans, monsoon variability and local geography are combining to produce extreme events.'
'Due to orographic rainfall, localised areas are experiencing intense downpours.' 'In a very heavy downpour, the burst of water has to find its way and therefore whatever comes in its path gets washed away.'
Terming the charge that Wangchuk incited the violence in Leh as 'misplaced', she claimed that he has been protesting in the "most Gandhian way possible" and the "situation escalated" on September 24 due to the actions of the CRPF.
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
As night fell over Chositi village, rescuers worked frantically and pulled out 167 people from under mounds of rubble. Of these, 38 are in a serious condition, officials said. The death toll went up steadily as the day progressed and there were fears it could rise further.
At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today the Chinese were to come inside India, "I will fight and kill them", prudently adding, "if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight". The entire village had a good laugh.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a devastating cloudburst in Kishtwar district that claimed 60 lives and injured over 100. Abdullah expressed condolences and assured assistance, while also questioning potential administrative lapses.
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Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
'Himalayan glaciers are expected to become smaller, and small glaciers will have disappeared, but by no means will all glaciers have melted by the end of the 21st century,' glaciologist Markus Stoffel tells Rashme Sehgal.
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'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
'From environmental impact assessment to forest clearances, this has turned out to be an unscientific road-widening project with catastrophic consequences.'
'This is probably why the late General Bipin Rawat, who hails from the Garhwal Himalaya, said that the existing roads are fine with the army.'
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'The entire public needs to be evacuated immediately. Any day, the entire town can collapse.'
'I consider myself a pilgrim who is here to shape tomorrow.'
'An earthquake of a slightly higher magnitude in the Western Himalayan region is going to be catastrophic -- not just because of the fragility of the region but because of how densely we have occupied it.'
China plans to build a 540-kilometre strategic high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal passing through a tunnel under Mount Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about the Communist giant's growing influence in its neighbourhood.
'The problem is that all this reconstruction work is being monitored by the prime minister himself with inputs being provided directly by the PMO so nobody in the state government dare contradict them even if their suggestions are totally contrary to what the ecology of this region requires.'
'The Weather Channel argues that India faces the gravest challenge: Climate change-induced health vulnerability.' 'This is an issue often neglected, alerts Claude Arpi: "Prolonged summers, unpredictable rains, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels are the harsh realities of climate change in the country. These factors increase the frequency and severity of illnesses, pushing people into poverty, and forcing migration".'
'There were literally thousands of houses with cracks.' '40 percent of the town has been affected.'
Some may see China's decision to antagonise India as strategically unwise. But China believes its prestige demands standing up to India, whatever the cost.
The teams carried out a helicopter survey of the area on Tuesday to find clues as to what led to the massive flash floods that swept everything on the way.
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Incessant rains lashed Uttarakhand for the second consecutive day on Monday, prompting the authorities to advise Chardham pilgrims not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.
'Geological processes occur at time scales that are beyond human imagination, but we need to understand these events.'
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
