Gangtok: There has been no significant
decrease in glaciers in Sikkim due to global warming and
climate change, a leading expert and member of Sikkim Glacier
Commission Milap Chand Sharma has said.
There will be no decrease in the accumulation of snow/ice
reserves in the glaciers of Sikkim in any foreseeable future
due to precipitation in Sikkim throughout the year, he said.
Sikkim gets precipitation round the year from the south
west monsoons, winter rains and Mediterranean westerlies due
to its advantageous location in the eastern Himalayas. At
higher altitudes the precipitation is in the form of snow.
The triple precipitation in Sikkim will always cater to
better input for the glaciers compared to the Western
Himalayas, Sharma, who carried out an extensive study of the
state of glaciers in the state.
Even the Zemu glacier, the largest in Sikkim, has
retreated by only five to seven meters since 1977 despite its
surface thining, he said.
The condition of glaciers depended on factors beyond
climate change and global warming like morphology of valley,
its shape, size and slope, he said.
While there have been a number of glaciers which have
retreated during the past several years, there have been other
glaciers which have advanced during the same period.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 12, 2009, 18:41