New Delhi: Smaller Himalayan glaciers are proving much more vulnerable to climate change than the area's larger glaciers, says a new report contradicting the recent environment ministry backed study which claimed that glacier melting can't be linked to global warming.
A joint team from WWF-India, a well-known conservation organisation and Birla Institute of Technology analysed the three year data available from the on-going research to monitor two central Himalayan glaciers since 2006 – Gangotri and Kafni having length of 30 km and 4.2 km respectively.
The study entitled, "Witnessing Change: Glaciers in the Indian Himalayas," says that while small glaciers are retreating fast and some of them have even vanished.
Himalayan glaciers too are retreating but at a reduced rate and the larger glaciers like Gangotri are unlikely to disappear in near future due to their large mass balance.
However, the study by former deputy director general of the Geological Survey of India V K Raina, which was recently released by Environment Minister Jairarm Ramesh,
claimed that climate change can't be cited as a reason for melting of glaciers in the absence of conclusive scientific evidence.
However, Ravi Singh, Secretary General of WWF India said that, "These glaciers are perhaps more vulnerable to local climate variations.
"We see a need for more long-term and continuous assessment to monitor the hydro-meteorological parameters existing in the vicinity in order to better predict future
water resource scenarios."
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 16:12