Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Key Phrases: Disaster at Amarnath Base Camp, Flash Floods, Rishiganga project disaster (2021), Landslide in Manipur (2022), IHR, HKH, WIHG, Black Carbon, GLOFs, Forest Fires/ Wildfires;

Why in News?

• The recent crisis near the base camp of Amarnath Cave shrine was caused due to flash floods killing 15 people.
• This has again raised concerns regarding climate change and the associated disasters causing the destruction of life and property.

Key Highlights

How has Climate Change Increased Vulnerability?

• It has increased the variability in the precipitation, causing sudden flash floods and flash droughts.
• It also leads to the drying of springs present in the Indo-Himalayan Region (IHR).
• As per NITI Aayog Report in 2018, around 50% of springs in IHR are drying up.
  • The loss in soil moisture has increased the chances of wildfires.
  • As per a 2020 study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology, black carbon concentrations near the Gangotri glacier rise by 400 times in summer due to forest fires.
  • Deposition of Black carbon decreases the albedo of ice causing melting of glaciers.
• It has increased the glacial melting.
• Temperature change
  • As per the report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (2020), the temperature in HKH (Hindu Kush- Himalayan Region) has risen by 0.1 ℃ per decade (1901-2014) with enhanced warming in later years 0.2℃ per decade (1951-2014).
  • Melted glaciers leave debris behind due to a receding snowline.
  • This debris is then carried away by rain to the adjoining streams to increase the water level in the streams/ rivers.
  • This results in increased chances of flash floods.

How have anthropogenic activities turned hazards into disasters in IHR?

• Creation of transportation infrastructure
  • As the Himalayan mountains are the youngest mountain range in the world, they have loose soil structure.
  • Building roads, laying down railway lines and blasting tunnels further destabilise already fragile landmass. This has become a cause of an increasing number of landslides.
    • E.g. recent landslides in Manipur in the region where railway tracks were being laid.
• Deforestation and changed land use pattern
  • Deforested lands are unable to hold the rainwater which denudes away the debris and deposits it in the streams.
  • This is disadvantageous in two ways.
    • It doesn’t recharge the groundwater and springs which threaten food security and increases the chances of propagation of wildfires.
    • It increases the debris in the main rivers resulting in downstream floods.
• Mindless construction of dams
  • These clog the river basins disallowing upstreams to flow freely.
  • As per the NIDM (National Institute Of Disaster Management) report of 2015, dam construction is one of the reasons for increasing flash floods in the region.
    • Eg. a GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) had flooded the Rishiganga river which damaged the Rishiganga Project site and the Tapovan-Vishnugad project site. It led to 200 people missing and killed 80 people.

Way Forward

• Mitigation Measures
  • Increasing the green cover up to 100-150 km downstream of glaciers
    • Planting the cover will reduce the erosive action of the streams and rains.
    • It will reduce the chances of Black carbon being generated due to reduced forest fire as tress will ensure adequate soil moisture.
  • Honest and stringent EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) should decide the project viability. Locals should be involved to ensure watchful eyes and satisfied stakeholders’ interests.
  • Carrying Capacity of Mountains must be kept in mind to ensure that we don’t extract too much from the ecosystem that we are forced to give back through disasters.
  • Using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and detailed observations to check the vulnerability of Glacial Lakes and classify them as potentially hazardous Glacial Lakes.
  • Restricting the number of dams to a minimum to safeguard the already fragile ecosystem.
    • The Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins are home to around 36 operational hydropower projects.
  • Steps to reduce GHGs in the atmosphere must be sped up.
• Adaptation Measures
  • Traditional water harvesting systems should be used to increase soil moisture and ensure the revival of springs which are essential for irrigation, drinking water needs and controlling wildfires.
  • Training local people in relief operations will reduce the number of deaths and limit the vulnerability to hazards.
    • Over 80% of search and rescue is carried out by the local community before the intervention of the State machinery.
  • Having a credible disaster management system in place for the Himalayas

Conclusion

• Climate change is acting as a force multiplier and making landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts more disastrous. Any development in IHR must respect the landform and the ecology. Anthropogenic disturbances in the name of development must be curtailed in order to meet the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question

Q “Climate change has added another layer of vulnerability. It is acting as a force multiplier and making landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts more disastrous” Illustrate this statement with a suitable way forward.