Hindu Kush Himalayan Region at High Risk, May loss Over 60% Glacier by 2100

                                                                                                                                                         Photo: Business Standard  

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is facing a high risk of losing over 60% of its glaciers, due to rampant global warming and climate change, by the year 2100. The fact was revealed by a global climate report said on Wednesday.

Noticeably, the Hindukush covers vast areas, including high mountain ranges of central, south and inner Asia.

A report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a changing climate, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), suggests that glacier retreat and snow cover changes have already contributed to localized declines in agricultural yields in high mountain regions, including the Hindu Kush Himalayas.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya region includes mountain ranges of the Tien Shan, Kun Lun, Pamir, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Himalayas, and Hengduan and the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau which produce one of the world's largest renewable supplies of freshwater. It supports 120 million people directly through irrigation systems, and a total of 1.3 billion indirectly through river basins in India, Tibet, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The report reads, "Hindu Kush Himalayan regions are extremely susceptible to temperature increase. Under a 1.5 degree Celsius global warming scenario, the areas are projected to warm up by more than 2 degrees Celsius on average by the end of this century”.

Approved by over 190 countries, the report said that currently, more likely climate change scenarios suggest regional temperature increases between 3.5 and 6 degree Celsius by 2100.

"Most of the projections also indicate overall wetter conditions in the future and increases in extreme precipitation events. This will lead to significant losses in glacier volume, from 36 to 64 per cent, depending on the warming scenario, and impact timing of water flows and water availability.

So, the rate of risk is extremely high in present emission scenario," the report said. According to the report, floods will become more frequent and severe in the mountainous and downstream areas of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins, in Hindu Kush Himalayan region, because of an increase in extreme precipitation events. Depending on the climate change scenario, the severity of flood events is expected to more than double towards the end of the century.

Another author of the report revealed, it affects water for domestic use, agriculture and hydroelectricity.

Speaking about possible loss of a vast portion of Himalayan glacier, one of the authors of the above report, Anjal Prakash said, "Snow and glacier melt from high mountains helps to sustain the rivers that deliver water resources to downstream populations”.

The report also said that with just 50 cm of sea-level rise, 150 million people would face flooding in port cities around the world. Among the 46 cities at risk due to sea level rise, two are Indian cities of Mumbai and Kolkata, which may experience severe and frequent floods.