'Glaciers are melting all across the region.'
A recent study by scientists indicates that the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region is experiencing increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change, including rapid glacial melting and changing rainfall patterns. However, the research also cautions against solely blaming climate change, highlighting that human factors like population growth, commercial activities, and non-enforcement of regulations contribute significantly to the vulnerability and impact of these disasters. The study points out that many devastating floods originate from small glaciers and rain-fed streams, exacerbated by encroachment on unstable slopes and floodplains.
'There needs to be a monitoring of glaciers in high altitude areas and one needs to check regularly how geological changes are taking place.' 'We can mitigate that by regular monitoring but unfortunately, hardly any monitoring is happening.' 'And without monitoring those higher altitudes of Himalayas, people are suffering.'
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.
'The trigger for the flood was definitely natural, but the damage that it caused was human-made.'
'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!'
More than twice as much global glacier mass will remain if countries restrict temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to the warming level of 2.7 degrees Celsius resulting from the current policies, says a new study released.
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.
'Events like the one we saw on Sunday are complex geological processes which can be impacted by weather and climatic conditions.' 'It is difficult to attribute something like this to just one factor or to a particular time period, especially when we have still not understood the exact cause.'
'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".'
Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the start of the 21st century due to rising temperatures, losing over a vertical foot and half of ice each year and potentially threatening water supply for hundreds of millions of people in countries, including India, according to a study published in 2019.
