New Delhi: Himalayan glaciers retreating at varying rates, Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju said Thursday adding melting of glaciers can’t be prevented or slowed down.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha Thursday, the minister further said that no monitoring institute has proposed any steps to preserve the Himalayan glaciers.
The minister however said several Indian institutes, universities and organizations funded by the Government of India through Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Department of Space (DoS), Ministry of Mines (MoM) and Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) monitor the Himalayan glaciers for various scientific studies including glacier melting.
"They have reported accelerated heterogeneous mass loss in Himalayan glaciers", he said.
Rijiju said the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through its autonomous institute, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has been monitoring six glaciers in the Chandra basin (2437 km2 area) in western Himalaya since 2013.
"A state-of-the-art field research station ‘Himansh’ established in Chandra basin and operational since 2016 for conducting field experiment and expeditions to glaciers", he added. "Besides, the DST’s Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has been pursuing cryospheric research on different aspects that include glacier dynamics, hydrology and hazards using both satellite data and ground-based observations", said Rijiju. "WIHG have observed that glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya shows significant heterogeneities in glacier thinning and surface flow velocity patterns", he said.
"A state-of-the-art field research station ‘Himansh’ established in Chandra basin and operational since 2016 for conducting field experiment and expeditions to glaciers", he added.
"Besides, the DST’s Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has been pursuing cryospheric research on different aspects that include glacier dynamics, hydrology and hazards using both satellite data and ground-based observations", said Rijiju.
"WIHG have observed that glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya shows significant heterogeneities in glacier thinning and surface flow velocity patterns", he said.
Rijiju said the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) has been monitoring the hydrological and hydro – meteorological data at Bhojwasa downstream of Gaumukh since 2000.
"The volume of flow recorded during these years does not show much variation. NIH is also monitoring two glaciers namely Phuche and Khadung in Ladakh Himalayas since 2010", he added.
He further said that the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO’s) Space Application Centre (SAC) has mapped 5234 glaciers of Himalayan-Karakoram (H-K) region using primarily IRS LISS III data which indicated varied loss in glacier area in the region.
"Geological Survey of India (GSI) and various Institutes/Universities under the projects funded by DST have conducted mass balance studies on number of glaciers and found that majority of Himalayan glaciers are melting/ retreating at varying rates in different regions", he said.
"Around 90 research personals including scientists, faculties as well as research scholars in different academic and research institutions across country were engaged for the purpose of conducting research work on Himalayan glaciers during the last three years", Rijiju said.
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