Melting Glaciers Manifest Doomsday

The glaciers of Uttarakhand are melting faster due to global warming, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, and black carbon.

According to a study by scientists at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun there are a total of 9575 glaciers in the Himalayan region out of which 900 glaciers are in Uttarakhand. Some of the important glaciers that are melting at a fast pace are Gangotri, Satopanth, Bhagirathi, and Raikhana.

Although the melting of glaciers is a natural phenomenon, the speed at which Uttarakhand's glaciers are melting is alarming. With this phenomenon, India may face various problems.

Nowadays, everyone is well aware of the fact that the average temperature of the earth is increasing rapidly. The year 2023 is the hottest year on record. According to Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Servive, the average temperature in 2023 was 1.48 degree Celsius higher than the temperature of the Pre-Industrial Revolution Period.

According to America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the temperature of the months from June 2023 to August 2024 has set new records, breaking all the previous records in succession.

This year (2024), many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi have recorded temperatures up to or above 40 degree Celsius from May 15 to June 18. Along with the rise in temperature in the above mentioned states, Uttarakhand has also been experiencing heat wave outbreaks from May 29 to June 19 when the temperature here was between 40 to 44 degrees Celsius.

The main reason for the melting of glaciers is directly related to the rise in temperature. Due to the increase in the average temperature of the earth, frequency and intensity of natural disasters are also increasing at a fast rate. Natural disasters include cloudbursts, heavy rains in a short period of time, sky lightning strikes, bursting of glacial lakes, surges in heat and cold waves, landslides, etc.

Scientists have attributed the melting of Uttarakhand's glaciers to the increase in average global temperature, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, and black carbon, but Uttarakhand's economic development model is also responsible for the rise in temperature in the state.

In 2013, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand was hit by a cloudburst which caused severe floods that killed thousands of locals and pilgrims and left millions of pilgrims stranded for days. In this incident, many villages of Uttarakhand slid several kilometers downward.

How much damage Uttarakhand's 900 melting glaciers can cause is easily estimated from the damage caused by the outburst of Sikkim's glacial Lhonak Lake in 2023. More than 200 people died due to the outburst of Lhonak Glacial Lake. The Teesta Dam-3 on the Teesta River and all the bridges across the river were flooded. As many as 80,000 people in four districts of Sikkim had to bear heavy losses.

Indiscriminately cutting of forests to increase tourism and pilgrimage, construction of four-lane roads, and dams on rivers beyond their capacity to generate hydro-electricity are taking place in the name of economic development in Uttarakhand. For this so-called development, the state government here is completely ignoring the environmental regulations. Due to the absence of trees, the temperature in the state of Uttarakhand is also rising rapidly.

Hydropower projects that are already on rivers and new projects are also increasing the temperature. The machinery used to build projects and the explosive materials used to break mountains are also releasing various gases into the environment, heating it up.

Roads are being built rapidly in Uttarakhand to increase tourism and make public access to religious places. A 900-km section of the all-weather four-lane road being constructed to connect Gangotri, Yamnotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath dhams passes through an environmentally sensitive area. To build this part, it has been divided into 58 parts keeping in mind to avoid the environmental regulations.

The mountains are also being blasted with explosives for roads to be built in an environmentally sensitive area, due to which the temperature is expected to rise. Heavy machinery is also being used to build roads. The fuel used for this machinery is usually diesel. Diesel pollutes the environment by emitting huge amounts of black carbon and also increases the temperature.

The number of pilgrims and tourists in the state of Uttarakhand is also increasing every year due to the easy accessibility of the road network. Hotels, motels, dhabas etc. have been built by cutting the forests for providing accommodation and food to the pilgrims and tourists. Thus, the increasing number of pilgrims and tourists, and the presence of workers in hotels, motels, and dhabas and the fuel used to cook food for their consumption are also partly responsible for the increase in temperature.

In place of native trees like oak and deodar, commercially beneficial planted trees such as pine are also responsible for the rise in temperature. Pine trees have a high amount of flammable material that catches fire quickly. From November 2023 to June 2024, 11,256 forest fire incidents occurred in Uttarakhand in 11 out of 13 districts. Although the melting of glaciers is a part of natural calamities, it also has to be seen what damage the melting of glaciers can do to India.

If the glaciers melt faster, the flood events in the plains will increase manifold due to excess water in the rivers in the initial stages. As a result, people will be displaced, crops will be ruined and there will be enormous loss of life and property. Crop destruction will lead to decrease in foodgrains production and food shortages in India, the world's most populous country.

After the rapid melting of the glaciers, when the ice reserves gradually deplete, there will come a time when the water in the rivers will decrease, resulting in water scarcity in the country. Water scarcity will lead to drought-like conditions and severe shortages in food grain production, which may result in famine-like conditions. Along with scarcity of water and food grains, energy (electricity) crisis may also arise.

Due to reduction of water in the rivers, the number of aquatic organisms will also decrease in proportion to the decreasing amount of water in the rivers. As the number of aquatic organisms decreases, the people living along the rivers whose livelihoods depend on these organisms are being forced to suffer food shortages and unemployment.

India is bordered by the sea on three sides, the melting of glaciers will raise the sea level and a large part of the country's coastal states and union territories that are adjacent to the sea will be submerged into the sea. Rising sea levels will also increase the number of marine disasters.

Although it is not possible to stop the melting of glaciers, the rate of their melting can certainly be reduced. Although the problem of melting glaciers is directly related to the rise in temperature, the Uttarakhand government should refrain from carrying out activities in the state that increase the local temperature.

Before starting any kind of economic development projects the state government should get the topography of the area checked by geologists, monitor the glaciers and river sources and minimize the tampering with the natural resources.

Roads in hilly areas should be made as wide as is required there and which does not cause any damage to the environment. Dams on rivers should also be built according to their capacity. Explosives should not be used during construction in hilly areas as explosives heat up the environment.

Care should also be taken while cutting forests. After deforestation, new trees of native species only should be planted so that they do not harm the environment. Any construction in environmentally sensitive areas should be strictly prohibited. The tourism department officials should limit the number of tourists.

Dr Gurinder Kaur is a former Professor, Department of Geography, Punjabi University at Patiala. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.