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Topic: Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region

Why in News?

• The ‘Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region’ report has stated that the snowfall over the higher reaches of the Hindukush Himalayan mountain ranges has been increasing in recent decades, which has shielded the region from glacier shrinkage.
• The recent massive flooding in the Alaknanda river, probably due to glacial bursts, left a trail of destruction near Joshimath area in Chamoli district.
• Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region report is published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in June 2020. This was the first such report prepared for India.

Hindu Kush

• The Hindu Kush is an 800-kilometre-long (500 mi) mountain range that stretches through Afghanistan, from its centre to Northern Pakistan and into Tajikistan.
• The range forms the western section of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region (HKH) and is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram and the Himalayas.
• It divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south.
• The range has numerous high snow-capped peaks, with the highest point being Tirich Mir or Terichmir at 7,708 metres (25,289 ft) in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Key Highlights

• Several areas of Hindukush Karakoram Himalayas have experienced a declining trend in snowfall and also retreat of glaciers in recent decades.
• The high-elevation Karakoram Himalayas have experienced higher winter snowfall that has shielded the region from glacier shrinkage.
• The overall climate along the Hindukush Karakoram region is undergoing warming at a higher rate during the winter season as compared to other seasons.
• The warming reported from this region is higher than global mean temperatures.
• The snow cover over the Hindukush Karakoram ranges has shown varying tendencies from 1980 to 2018, with moderate declining rate observed since 2000.
• About 50 per cent of the region’s annual precipitation occurs during winter months, with snowfall being the primary source for water for the rest of the dry months of the year. Monsoon causes precipitation during summers too.

Reasons

• Weather dynamics is intricate in the Himalayan region, arising due to extensive interactions of tropical and extratropical weather systems.
• The Himalayas have been warming at a faster rate than the rest of Indian land mass during 1951 – 2018.
• Warming Trend

• The decadal warming trend recorded over these ranges from 1951 to 2014 was 1.3 degree Celsius.
• This is a rise from 0.16 degree Celsius recorded from 1900 to 1950, when global warming was less pronounced.

Effects

• Increase in annual mean surface temperature: The Climate Assessment report has forecast an increase in annual mean surface temperature by 2.2 degree Celsius during 2040 – 2069 and a further increase by 3.3 degree Celsius during 2070 – 2099, along these ranges.
• Increase in the precipitation: Due to this warming trend, there is an expected increase in the precipitation projected over the region.

Major Significance

• Main Drivers of the Monsoon System: The Hindukush Karakoram ranges, along with the Tibetan Plateau, are the main drivers of the Indian Summer Monsoon.
• Source of Livelihood: These ranges form the source to 10 major river systems in Asia, supporting drinking water, irrigation and power supply to 1.3 billion people in the continent.
• Major Indian rivers which replenish due to the melted snow are Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.
• After the North and the South poles, the Hindukush – Karakoram ranges, along with the Tibetan Plateau, hold the largest reserves of fresh water and are known as the ‘Third Pole’.