A Brief Note On The Himalayas Of India

When President Taft created Glacier National Park in 1910, it had about 150 glaciers. Since then, the number has decreased to less than 30, and those remaining have shrunk by two-thirds. Dr. Daniel Fagre (2015) predicts that within the next 30 years most if not all of the park's glaciers will melt. Glacier National Park is not the only place effected. The snow on Kilimanjaro has melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Glaciers at the Garhwal Himalaya in India are melting so fast that researchers believe that most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035. Greenlands coastal glaciers have melted to the point of no return. “These peripheral glaciers and ice caps can be thought of as colonies of ice that are in rapid decline,

In modern times, when individuals think about environmental problems, climate change seems to always be at the forefront. Whether people learned through the Paris Climate Accord or the internet about the devastating effects that a warming climate could bring, most of society can at least acknowledge that climate change is a hot political talking point. Because of this, more and more research has been focused on the effects that a changing climate could bring about. Research on the effects of climate change range from the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its effects on global temperatures, to the rate at which glacial ice is melting and sea level rise. This documentary, On Thin Ice, is concerned with the relationship between a warming climate and the rate at which the Gangotri Glacier has been melting over several years. This film discusses the different effects that a rapidly melting Gangotri has on water scarcity in Indian villages located downstream as well as the ways that Americans could be affected by this environmental phenomenon.

Global Warming is a significant factor contributing in China's Water Scarcity Crisis. For example, Global Warming is affecting the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau’s glaciers, which provides water for the Yangtze and Yellow river. From that, one of their major rivers, the Yellow river, frequently dries up. (Doc. A) In an

Remote sensing has become a very valuable tool for documenting the response of glacier to changing climate (Bamber and Kwok, 2003; Kuhn, 2007; Pellikka, 2007; Solomon et al, 2007) because the rugged terrain, inaccessibility and legendary poor weather of glacier areas has resulted in relatively few field- based studies. Indeed, in order to use glaciers and their changes as indicators of climate change, or as an early warning signal for sea level rise, remote sensing is the only tool to provide glacier change information from all the continents and from a large number of glaciers and ice sheets. On the other hands, because space borne and airborne remote sensing data provide superior cost- effective and area effective data and methods for monitoring the glaciers and their changes, part of this monitoring can be carried out by it.

Global warming persists as one of the world’s biggest issues today that is causing several problems that include the world’s severe climate and rising sea levels while possibly being the main cause as to why all of mankind could go extinct. This global crisis is known as the steady increase in the world’s average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans that are proven to be permanently changing the world’s climate (Live Science, 2014). This phenomenon is strongly evident as Earth’s temperature has also increased by 2 degrees Celsius since the last century. As a result of this, Canadian glaciers are melting at a higher rate of 2 to 3 feet than of what it was a decade before (Lerner, 2014). All astoundingly happening while the Artic Canadian permafrost has begun to melt (Davidson,2015). The state of this issue in Canada does not seem to be improving as validated through both the scientific evidence as well as the blatant and irrefutable observable evidence.

In Greenland and in the Arctic I was astonished to see that ancient glaciers are rapidly disappearing well ahead of scientific predictions. All that I have seen and learned on this journey has terrified me. For decades, scientists have struggled to get the same basic message across: global

Farge has been tracking glaciers in Glacier National Park for 25 years. The degrading ice fields are measured and photographed often. A once famous Boulder Glacier has been left to slush, with the same still happening to many Glaciers. In the park 50 glaciers existed in the mid nineteen fifties, now only 25 are left. In 1977 Gore made a speech on Grinnell Glacier about climate change. With the once 15-20 foot drop they were worried about falling ice. Today, the drop isn’t even to your kneecap. Cloud Glacier Peak is predicted to die in 2035. The decline has led to a loss of homes for many species. Animals that live near glacier edges enjoyed the conditioned temperatures, are now losing that. With the loss of these Glacier sea levels are rising

Some historians believe that the Himalayas acted as a barrier for the last five thousand years, separating civilized development in China from the rest of the world. (China kept much to herself until about two hundred years ago. Then the British, using gunpowder invented by the Chinese, forced the door to China wide open to the West, starting the most humiliating chapter in Chinese history and the interactions with the rest of the world). Developments in China and the West progressed at a similar pace, despite their engaging in little intellectual communications. Great thinkers emerged in both parts of the world about 2500 years ago, paving the way for their respective civilizations to develop culturally and intellectually, albeit taking completely different approaches.

Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, once said that “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” In fact, scientific evidence for climate change is undeniable and the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt all around the world (“Global Climate Change”). Furthermore, evidence to support these claims for climate change can be found anywhere from the tops of mountains to ice cores drawn from the bottom of the earth. For these reasons, the causes, effects, and solutions of climate change need to be understood, so that all people of the next generation still have a suitable habitat to live in.

In April 2015, the devastating Gorkha earthquake shook Nepal, killing thousands and injuring thousands more. Nepal’s location on the Indo-Eurasian fault line makes it a prime location for earthquakes, as well as resulting landslides and avalanches. Less than a month after the first quake, a 7.3 magnitude aftershock struck Nepal again and left the entire country in fear (Nepal earthquakes, 2015). Relief efforts quickly followed after the earthquakes, as well as the flight of thousands of Nepalis who fled the country out of fear that the earthquakes would never end.

Glaciers are one of the most fundamental phenomenon on the planet, and much of their purpose and impact on earth has been well documented and published. Ice sheets, Ice Caps and Glaciers trap nearly 90% of the world's fresh water, and are replenished by snowfall each year. Their existence on this planet dates back 650,000,000 years and yet they are always moving, always shifting and always melting. Before, human existence and even during the brief era of humans, ice dominated all of the earth's landmass and have regulated, created and altered many of the landscapes around the world.

Air temperatures increased by ~2.5°C from 1950-2000.T he famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Glaciers in Nepal and India are retreating so fast that researchers believe that most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could virtually disappear by 2035. Arctic sea ice has thinned significantly over the past half century, and its extent has declined by about 10 percent in the past 30 years. NASA's repeated laser altimeter readings show the edges of Greenland's ice sheet

Along with the deep seas, there are signs of rising sea levels. This is being contributed to the melting of Glaciers. According to National Geographic’s “The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya in India are retreating so fast that researchers believe that most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could virtually disappear

Discusses the environmental impact of glaciers melting in the Himalayas. Well in grumbine study he discusses how the increase in average temperature by even 1 degree Celsius would have a huge impact on the region. The first thing grumbine discusses is how climate change and melting of glaciers can sometimes be a good thing. In his research paper he discusses how the excessive amount of water in the area has contributed to the large amount of biodiversity in the region. Grumbine later in his study talks about the situation in China where the Melting of glaciers has come to them as a blessing. Grumbine states that 12% of runoff is glacier discharge which provides water 25% of the people in western China during the off season.

About 9,000 glacial lakes are identified in the Himalaya of South Asia, out of which 200 lakes are identified as potentially dangerous glacial lakes and liable to burst out at any time” (Shrestha). Likewise, snowcapped mountains are turning into dark rocky mountains. It has certainly destroyed the natural beauty, although that is not what matters the most compared to other difficulties. Melting of ice in Himalayas also weakens the grip between mountain and snow which leads to avalanches. “Giant chunks of ice swept down a treacherous section of Mount Everest known as the Khumbu Icefall, claiming 16 lives in the single deadliest accident on the world’s highest peak” (Maltby). This is the result of dangerous glacial lakes caused by increasing temperature. This proves the climate change, capable of such caliber of destruction is not a myth.