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| My planet is getting warmer | | | Dr. Pragya Khanna | 3/31/2012 11:14:40 PM |
| 31st March 2012 observed Earth Hour 2012 with yet another symbolic 'lights out' experience worldwide. A great applause for this environmentally sustainable action. Let us all join hands to build a future wherein humans live in synchronization with nature, by conserving the world's biodiversity, promising that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the diminution of pollution and profligate utilization. Much has been said and written about the rising global temperature and climate change and generally speaking, the lesser developed countries seem to receive the bulk of the impact when it comes to negative world developments and global warming is no different. Lately we are hearing about the catastrophic phenomenon in different parts of the world like the dreadful mud flow that hit Leh, killing more than 160 people; death of more than 1,600 people in disastrous floods in Pakistan, which have by now affected as many as 12 million people and damaged over 600,000 homes; flood-related episodes in China that took nearly 4,000 lives; Russia witnessing an intolerable temperature rise leading to scores of summer deaths and, of course, fatal wildfires; New York sweltering in a thick tropical heat and humidity so on and so forth.
All these events are attributed to global warming, caused mostly by human excesses. The earth has begun to swelter as rising levels of greenhouse gases trap more and more of the sun's heat in the lower atmosphere. The global warming phenomenon leads to increase in average air and ocean temperatures, melting of snow and ice, and rising sea levels. Melting glaciers is a major concern today. Glaciers are formed by fallen snow that gets solidified into ice over a period of time. New layers of snow keep adding up to the already formed ice compressing it further. This makes it thicker and heavier as it is a continuous process. As the weight of the glacier keeps increasing, it helps the entire block of ice to move very slowly, a few meters over a period of days. Because they move, glaciers are also called rivers of ice, as like rivers flow, so do glaciers. According to climatologists a little melting of glaciers is completely normal, even contributing to the fresh water supply to living beings, however, problems arise when the amount of snowfall is much lesser than the amount of melting snow, like the scenario in the present world.
The accelerated melting of glaciers as a result of rising temperatures has great implications for water resources on which not only 210 million of mountain population in the Greater Himalayan Region, but also the estimated 1.3 billion others in downstream river basins in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam that depend on them for sustenance and livelihoods. Our mighty rivers, including the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yangtze and Yellow rivers of China are among others that spring from the Greater Himalayan Region. Glacier contribution to river flow is most important in the dry season when there is no rainfall and in areas of generally low precipitation. The amount of melt water depends on the mass of ice available for melting. In the early stages of deglaciation, more ice will melt and there will be more water in the rivers. As the glaciers reach a new equilibrium with a smaller overall mass, melt and melt water runoff will be reduced.
In developing countries like India, climate change could represent an additional stress on ecological and socioeconomic systems that are already facing remarkable pressures due to rapid urbanization, industrialization and economic development. With its huge and growing population, a 7500-km long densely populated and low-lying coastline, and an economy that is closely tied to its natural resource base, India is significantly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Extreme temperatures and heat spells have already become common over Northern India, often causing loss of human life.
Moreover, it is also believed that the declining snow cover and receding glaciers in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir could activate renewed conflicts between India and Pakistan that have managed to uphold a World Bank-mediated Indus Water Treaty (IWT) so far that provides means for resolving disputes over water sharing. Any drastic reduction in the availability of water in the region has the potential of causing a combat. Furthermore, India and China are both exploring the opportunities to harness Himalayan waters for hydroelectric power projects, and while the initial melt promises to provide plenty of water for both sides, the loss of glaciers could lead to water shortages further in the future.
While the underground aquifers in Asia depend heavily on snow melt during the dry summer season, and long-term implications of the disappearance of Himalayan glaciers mean that access to water could become a serious political problem in the country as well.
The melting of the Gangotri glacier that feeds the India's holiest river Ganges, which has historically been a focal point for Hinduism has also given way to a new predicament. It is being said that the Ganges could become a seasonal river in the near future and that possibly can throw a spanner in the works of Hindu religious customs, woven into the socio-economic life and culture of Northern India. The Medical Science suggests that the rise in temperature and change in humidity will unfavorably affect human health in India. Heat stress could result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heal stroke, and damage physiological functions, metabolic processes and immune systems. Increased temperatures can increase the range of vector borne diseases such as malaria, mainly in regions where minimum temperatures currently limited pathogen and vector development. The effect of melting glaciers is a huge concern for each of us. It is quite scary to note the unprecedented effects of global warming in the form from cyclones, earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, mudslides, floods, droughts, hurricanes, tropical storms lead to human loss. We can not stop the glaciers from melting faster than they should, but let us all do whatever we can (however small) to help reduce global warming. It will help make earth a less hazardous place to live in. We should plant trees, reduce the use of natural resources, help forestation, or even spreading awareness about the damaged state we are in. There is so much that we as individuals can do to save our world, and it always begins with the little things. Let us think Globally but act Locally. |
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