According to the “India Regional Climate Change Assessment” report, the amount of snowfall in the upper reaches of the Hindu Kush Himalayas has been increasing in recent decades, which has protected the region from the effects of shrinking glaciers.
Highlights:
♦ The recent major flooding of the Alaknanda River, which may have been caused by a glacier eruption, highlights the problem of glaciers retreating due to global warming in recent decades, but the report shows a sharp contrast in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.
♦ The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has released the “India Regional Climate Change Assessment Report.” This is India’s first national forecast of the impact of global warming on the subcontinent in the coming century.
HinduKush Himalayan (HKH) Region:
♦ The HKH region includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It spans about 5 million square kilometers and has a large population of different cultures. It is considered the third pole (after the Arctic and Antarctic) and has an important influence on the climate. It has a vast cryosphere (frozen water) and is also the world’s largest ice storage area outside the polar regions.
