UN urges to save glaciers, secure the planet

Around 70% of the world’s freshwater resources are stored successful glaciers, which are fundamentally ample and heavy masses of crystal formed connected onshore owed to the accumulation of snowfall implicit decades, sometimes adjacent centuries. However, glaciers are precise delicate to rising temperatures and are considered captious indicators of clime change. 

As planetary warming intensifies, glaciers worldwide are melting astatine an alarming rate, affecting determination h2o cycles and planetary climate system. The melting of glaciers besides contributes to the planetary oversea level emergence and aggravates the risks for coastal populations. These challenges underscore the urgent request for clime enactment and sustainable glacier management.

To rise consciousness astir the value of preserving glacier wellness successful a warming world, the United Nations has declared 2025 arsenic the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Furthermore, starting successful 2025, March 21 volition beryllium marked annually arsenic the World Day of Glaciers. This inaugural was projected by Tajikistan during the archetypal gathering of the Water and Climate Leaders successful their Call for Action connected March 3,  2021, and was subsequently adopted by the UN General Assembly successful December 2022.

Risks posed by melting glaciers 

Glaciers are masses of crystal and snowfall flowing nether the power of gravity. They incorporate important sources of accusation astir our past clime and biology history. The Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI 7.0) estimates a full of astir 275,000 glaciers of assorted shapes and sizes successful the world, covering an country of astir 700,000 km². 

Glaciers are captious reservoirs of freshwater, which marque them indispensable to the planetary h2o rhythm and indispensable for sustaining ecosystems and quality communities. However, successful immoderate cases, the continuous retreat of glaciers could pb to the enactment and enlargement of glacial lakes. These lakes volition airs superior risks to downstream communities and infrastructure done glacial water outburst floods (GLOFs).

In polar regions, rising temperatures could besides heighten the process of calving — wherever ample chunks of crystal interruption disconnected from glaciers — affecting the dynamics of glaciers and crystal sheets. This improvement not lone disrupts determination ecosystems but besides contributes to planetary oversea level rise.

Preserving Himalayan glaciers for climatic stability

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) portion has the largest attraction of snowfall and glaciers extracurricular the polar regions. Therefore, it is referred to arsenic the “Third Pole” of the world. The HKH spreads crossed 8 countries, with Afghanistan making its occidental bound and Myanmar its eastbound limit. 

The HKH is the root of 10 large rivers, including the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, making it a freshwater operation of South Asia. These rivers supply important h2o resources for drinking, irrigation, vigor procreation and different ecosystem services for much than 1.3 cardinal colonisation surviving successful downstream areas.

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is portion of the larger HKH system. The geological survey of India has mapped a full of 9,575 glaciers successful the Indian portion of the Himalayas. The IHR spans a region of astir 2,500 km crossed 13 Indian states and Union Territories, arsenic outlined by NITI Aayog, with astir 50 cardinal radical residing successful the region.

Long-term information connected climatic parameters shows an expanding somesthesia inclination and a alteration successful the coagulated precipitation (snow) crossed astir parts of the IHR. Western Himalaya receives astir of its snowfall during the wintertime months chiefly owed to occidental disturbances. This seasonal snowmelt serves arsenic the large root of h2o for the stream systems of the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra. 

Snow that falls connected the glaciers, if not melted, feeds the glaciers by expanding their mass. However, owed to expanding warming, the timing and strength of the snowfall person been negatively affected successful galore parts. Low coagulated precipitation and accrued somesthesia besides pb to glacier wide nonaccomplishment and instability. 

Differential melting successful parts of IHR 

Glaciers crossed the Himalayan regions are showing a antagonistic wide balance, with 1 notable objection –  the glaciers of the Karakoram region. While idiosyncratic Himalayan glaciers are showing contrasting behaviour, overall, the Karakoram Glaciers person remained comparatively unchangeable since the 1970s, a improvement termed the “Karakoram Anomaly”.

Regional investigation shows that Western Himalayan (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh) glaciers are retreating astatine faster rates compared to Central (Uttarakhand) and Eastern Himalayan (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh.) glaciers. Very fewer glaciers successful the Himalayas person continuous tract estimates and long-term wide equilibrium records. Among these, Chhota Shigri, Hamtah, Shaune Garang and Mera glaciers are immoderate cases successful constituent arsenic they each amusement wide grounds of wide loss.

Glacier melting is influenced by a operation of climatic and non-climatic factors. Earlier, we discussed chiefly climatic factors specified arsenic temperature, rainfall, and snowfall. Non-climatic factors see determination (altitude and latitude), topography (slope, aspect, glacier bed, size), debris cover, glacial lake/waterbody, achromatic carbon, etc. 

Unlike the Alpine glaciers, a important fig of glaciers successful IHR are covered by debris, ranging from astir 5% to 15% of the full glacier area. Thus, Himalayan glaciers are not homogenous entities and their differential effect to clime alteration is based connected these climatic and non-climatic factors.

Melting glaciers and need for action

Most of the Himalayan glaciers are indicating a antagonistic wide equilibrium trend, with a differential complaint of retreat and melting. In the contiguous warming scenario, declining seasonal snowfall volition airs a superior menace to freshwater availability for the downstream population. In astir parts of the High Himalayan region, snowfall and glacier melt is the lone root of drinking and irrigation for section communities. 

Continued warming could pb to reduced h2o availability successful the agelong run, which could severely impact agriculture productivity and pb to adverse socio-economic consequences. Moreover, rising temperatures person besides contributed to an summation successful the fig and size of glacial lakes. These expanding lakes contiguous a increasing hazard of GLOFs, threatening the information of downstream communities and captious infrastructure, including assorted hydro-power projects.

Addressing these challenges requires urgent and sustained efforts. In August 2024, the United Nations adopted a solution to state the play from 2025 to 2034 arsenic the “Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences”. This inaugural seeks to beforehand planetary practice and beforehand probe successful cryosphere monitoring. 

At the nationalist level, the Indian authorities has launched the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) nether the National Action Plan connected Climate Change (NAPCC). NMSHE focuses connected knowing the impacts of clime alteration connected the Himalayan ecosystem. However, determination is simply a request for enhanced policies and fiscal investments to facilitate the constitution of much automatic upwind stations and continuous field-based glacier monitoring successful IHR.  

Post Read Questions

What is the value of the United Nations declaring 2025 arsenic the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation?

Why is the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) portion referred to arsenic the “Third Pole of the World”? What makes the portion a important “freshwater tower” for South Asia?

What are the imaginable semipermanent impacts of continued warming connected h2o availability and cultivation productivity successful the Himalayas?

What are the risks associated with expanding glacial lakes, and however bash they impact downstream communities and infrastructure?

What are the goals of the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) nether India’s National Action Plan connected Climate Change (NAPCC)?

(Abhinav Rai is simply a Doctoral campaigner astatine the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.)

Share your thoughts and ideas connected UPSC Special articles with ashiya.parveen@indianexpress.com.

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and enactment updated with the quality cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X.