Gangotri glacier getting 37 cm less snowfall, higher temperatures

Kolkata: A research shows that the health of the majestic Gangotri glacier that feeds the river Ganga has been affected, as the maximum temperature in the region has shot up by 0.9 degrees Celsius and snowfall reduced by 37 cm annually. A team of climate scientists recorded and analysed snow and meteorological parameters for a period of 13 years from 2000 to 2012 and found a warming trend.

“Maximum and minimum temperature reveal an increase of 0.9 degrees Celsius and 0.05 degrees Celsius respectively during the decade. Annual snowfall amount reveals a decrease of 37 cm in the decade,” says the report from the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh.

The report would soon be published in the Current Science journal. Scientists from the institute, part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Ministry of Defence, were based at ‘Bhojbasa’ observation station, nearly 5 km south from the Gangotri glacier snout named ‘Gaumukh’, to record the findings.

“We know that the glaciers, including the Gangotri, have been receding over the last few years. In this report we tried to corroborate it with meteorological data. It shows the effect of climate change,” said scientist H.S. Gusain, lead author of the five member team who did the study.

Situated in Uttarakhand district, the 30.2 km-long Gangotri glacier is the second largest in India. One of the primary sources of fresh water supply to the river Ganga, Gangotri has been found to have retreated more than 1,500 metres in the last 70 years.

The Gangotri glacier is a traditional Hindu pilgrimage site also. Devouts consider bathing in the icy waters near Gangotri town to be a holy ritual, and many trek to Gomukh, with a few continuing on to Tapovan. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that global surface temperatures have risen by almost a degree in the last century.

“These snowmeteorological parameters have a significant bearing on glacier accumulation/ablation pattern, and will influence glacier retreat and advancement,” says the report.

The Western Himalayas have already shown a similar trend of increasing temperature and decreasing snowfall. The maximum temperature in the Gangotri region varies from 9.8 degrees to 12 degrees C with a mean value of 11.1 while minimum temperature varies from 1.5 degrees C to 2.9 degrees C with mean value of 2.3, according to the study.

The highest values of maximum and minimum temperatures are observed for monsoon season as incoming solar radiation is observed to be the highest during this season.

It may be noted that high temperatures may cause higher melting rate of the glaciers in the region during the monsoon season, the scientists say. During winter, snowfall in the region is mainly due to western disturbances.
 

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