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- Gangotri glacier face melts 1700 m from 1935 to 2022: Study
- It is due to rising temperature, less snowfall and more rain
- Able to monitor only two dozen glaciers : Dr.Rakesh
There are 9,575 glaciers in the Himalayas that border India. 968 of these glaciers are in Uttarakhand. Most of the time water quenches the thirst of us humans in one way or another. Rivers like Ganges, Ghaghra, Mandakini, Saraswati are giving life to the plains of India. Giving water. Breathing. What if the sources of these rivers are exhausted? There are glaciers that keep the ice frozen. The heat is rising and everything will melt. For example, the Gangotri Glacier has melted 1700 meters (1.70 KM) in the last 87 years.
Ganga, considered the holiest river of the country, originates from the mouth of this glacier. It is from here that Ganga gets its life. Scientist Dr. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun. Rakesh Bhambri has studied. Their study revealed that from 1935 to 2022, the mouth of the Gangotri Glacier has melted 1700 meters i.e. two and a half kilometers. This is due to rising temperatures, less snowfall and more rain.
The reason for the rising temperature is you and me. Declining snowfall is also a result of climate change. Dr. Rakesh said in an interview how the weather is changing. You can see this now. Monsoon should have gone. But even now it is raining in Dehradun for three days. Similar situation will happen in many places. Weather is constantly changing. It is difficult to say where and how much this weather will affect the Himalayan regions.
Gangotri Glacier is extremely unstable
Dr. Rakesh said that Gangotri glacier is 30 km long. It has melted 1700 meters in the last 87 years. This is fast melting. But one asks how long it will melt. It’s hard to say. Because any glacier melt can have many reasons. For example climate change, less snowfall, rising temperature, continuous rainfall etc. Gangotri glacier is quite unstable. At least his mouth part is. The glacier will melt at one end or the other. This glacier is melting from the mouth.
Able to monitor only two dozen glaciers
Dr. Rakesh said that from 17th July 2017 to 20th July 2017 it rained continuously for three days. Icy substances are mixed in the soil here. There was permafrost conditions. But due to incessant rains, the mouth of the glacier and its surroundings melted rapidly. The flow of water downstream intensified. In any case there is very little stability in the rain. The rate of melting of any glacier increases. Also landslides etc. Scientists are currently able to monitor two dozen glaciers. Gangotri, Chorabari, Dunagiri, Dokriani and Pindari are the main ones. Now it is not possible to go for study on every glacier. It is in inaccessible places.
When the Gangotri glacier will end, cannot be said
When Dr. Rakesh was asked if the Ganga originates from the Gangotri Glacier? When will this glacier end? On this question, he said that it is very difficult to say when this will end. Because there are many reasons behind the melting of glaciers. To do such a study we need at least 30 years of data. But it is not like that. We have only 10-12 years of data. So it is very difficult to say when the Gangotri glacier will end.
Glaciers melt for many reasons
Dr. Rakesh Bhambri said that now if someone says that 1700 meters have melted in 87 years, then in how many years will the Gangotri glacier melt. It won’t be right. Now this glacier will remain for centuries. People report different data in different studies. Its different results show that it will dissolve in so many years. But not necessarily right. If we look at many other studies, from 1935 to 1996 the Gangotri glacier has melted about 20 meters per year. But now it has increased to 38 meters per year.
Will Gangotri Glacier survive for 1500 years?
Dr. Rakesh said that Gangotri has melted 300 meters in the last one decade. If we look at this rate of melting of Gangotri, it melted 1700 meters in 87 years. That is 19.54 meters in a year. According to that Gangotri glacier will melt in 1535 to 1500 years. But it may not be completely accurate. Because we never know when it will snow. When will it rain? When will the temperature rise? It will be possible to say for sure about this in the future when more accurate data is available.
Gangotri is the largest glacier in Uttarakhand
Gangotri is the largest glacier in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand. 30 km long. Area of 143 sq km. Width 0.5 to 2.5 km. At one end is Gaumukh at a height of 3950 feet. From where the Bhagir river originates. Later it joins the river Alaknanda at Devprayag to form the Ganges. The central government told the Rajya Sabha that between 2001 and 2016, the Gangotri Glacier lost an area of 0.23 square kilometers. That means the glacier has melted. The main reason for this is the change in rainfall and snowfall. Also the rising temperature is different.
Rain and snow patterns changed
Dr. Rakesh Bhambri said that the rainfall pattern in Uttarakhand has changed over the last few years. It is raining a lot. Quantity and time are not fixed. But the snowfall has reduced. It won’t snow anymore and if it rains more the glaciers will melt. Locals also testify that the snowfall is decreasing now. It is raining more. That is why the glaciers are melting fast. If this type of weather continues, the glaciers present in the Himalayas will collapse. Then in the year 2021, a tragedy like the one that happened in the Dhauliganga river of Chamoli district can be seen.
Remember the Kedarnath accident in 2013. A glacial lake made of mud and ice, Chorabari Lake received so much rain that it could not support the weight. tore up You will all remember the devastation that followed. If more rain falls in the Himalayan regions, the glaciers will melt or break off causing havoc.
