At the current trends, 80% of himalayan glaciers will. Makerere university centre for climate change research and innovation description. Almost half of the world gets its water from the himalayas and other high mountains, but little is known about how global. The effects of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity and sea level in himalayas index terms climate change, biodiversity, agriculture, sea level and himalayan region i. Existing observations indicate that the temperature is rising at a higher rate in nepal and chinese regions of the himalayas compared. Immerzeel w 2011 climate change impacts on the water resources of the hindu kush himalayas. Environmentthe basic possible impacts of climate change in. Glaciers in the himalayas are receding faster than in any other parts of the world. This atlas was developed as part of the himalayan climate change. The changing himalayas 2 himalayan climate and water the himalayas display great climatic variability. Climate change in the himalayas the global situation temperature increase is widespread over the globe, with higher than average trends in many of the worlds highlands. Climate change in nepal and its impact on himalayan glaciers. Himalayan climate change adaptation programme hicap.
Local perceptions of climate change validated by scientific. Climate change impacts on himalayan glaciers and implications on energy security of the country abstract. Climate changefood security impact mainly through dry season water availability receding glaciers himalayan meltdown rate of warming in the himalayas is more than five times faster than warming globally. Climate change in nepal and its impact on himalayan glaciers article pdf available in regional environmental change 11. Environmentthe basic possible impacts of climate change in the himalayas climate change in the himalayas is a major topic of worry for climate watchers in the subcontinent and across the world. It does not only affect life by increasing daily and. Himalayas are experiencing climate change at an unprecedented rate, this is increasing the incidents of flash floods, glofs, landslides and related disasters. The greater himalayan region the roof of the world contains the most extensive and rugged high altitude areas. The himalayan climate and water atlas, impact of climate change. Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the earths cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. The himalayas have the largest deposits of snow and ice in the world outside the polar regions and is often referred to as the third pole and. Climate change adaptation in forest ecosystems of the. This research, which focuses on ecosystems and land use, investigates linkages in joint climate change adaptation and mitigation jam in ecosystems.
Climate change and water resources in the himalayas. In 2011, nepal created a climate change policy, the centerpiece of nepals response to. There is a serious lack of systematic studies and empirical observations about specieslevel impacts of climate change in the himalayas gautam et al. This insight holds throughout the region, 5 comparable with patterns reported in nepal in policy discussion documents prepared for wedo. The climate of this region is influenced by the monsoon of south asia from june to september. Climate change effects in the western himalayan ecosystems of. Aug 10, 2017 the himalayan region is severely datadeficient in terms of observations of climate change impacts on ecosystem and biodiversity ipcc 2007.
Downstream implications of climate change in the himalayas. Mar 22, 20 how will climate change affect the himalayas. Climate change, poverty and adaptation in nepal i climate change, poverty and adaptation in nepal in february and march 2009, oxfam conducted interviews in rural communities in three ecological zones terai, hills and mountains and in the mid and far western development regions to capture a snapshot of how climate change is already affecting. Paper presented at the authors workshop for the regional report on climate change in the hindu kushhimalayas. With the risk of climate change coupled with increasing human pressures and threats, we must continue to enhance monitoring of. The region is filled with many glaciers and climbers frequently have to travel across them to gain access to the high peaks. This high vulnerability stems from the peculiar high mountain topography and from the higher than global average warming in the mountains including in the himalayas. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the earth system containing water in its frozen state. Perspectives on water and climate change adaptation 1 the. The world watch in stitute states that due to the effects of global warming the pattern of precipitation in the himalayas and the regions contiguous to the himalayas will undergo a more drastic change in the years to come. Climate change has strong influence on the precipitation over himalayas as well as melting response of glaciers snow cover in himalayas. Climate change has already taken a heavy toll of the himalayas. The eastern himalayas extend from eastern nepal across northeast india, bhutan, the tibet autonomous region to yunnan in china and northern myanmar. World heritage and tourism in a changing climate united nations educational, scienti.
Introduction if you were faced with the threat of the disappearance of your nation, what would you do, asked tuvalus prime minister at the 2014 conference of the parties cop20. Various studies have stated that warming in the himalayas has been much greater and high altitude systems are at a greater risk. Climate scientists have published many papers recording the rapid pace at which these highaltitude glaciers are melting. Provides concise knowledge on sources and impacts of climate change in the. This particular image was taken by nasas advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer aster, flying aboard the terra. Indigenous knowledge held by local communities about climate change can. The himalayas are made up of three parallel mountain ranges that together stretch for more than 1800 miles 2,900 kilometers. Climate change transcends national boundaries, however, and plans on a national scale run the risk of being ineffective because they do not take regionalscale effects into consideration. The himalayas are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Almost half of the world gets its water from the himalayas and other high mountains, but. However, we cannot ignore climate change and its associated challenges when dealing with these issues. Climate change effects in the western himalayan ecosystems.
The summer monsoon dominates the climate, lasting eight months marchoctober in the eastern himalayas, four. Impact of climate change on water resources and livelihoods in the. Gender and climate change in the indian himalayas 2014. Climatic change is one of the biggest environmental challenges in the planet that has affected several natural areas including the highest peak on earth, mt. One of the most obvious consequences of climate change in the himalayan mountain region is widespread glacier recession and growth of glacial lakes. We are pleased to present here a series of short articles contributed by many of the. Climate change and adaptation is a central topic on the 5th world water forum. This falsecolor image shows snowcapped peaks and ridges of the eastern himalayas between major rivers in southwest china. The himalayas are a pristine form of nature and are currently being affected by the increasing temperatures. With the melting of the himalayan glaciers, floods and water scarcity in the mountains and in river plains of india, pakistan and bangladesh, sealevel rise along bangladesh and indian coasts, the next few decades will see an exodus of climate change refugees. Widespread climate change in the himalayas and associated changes in local ecosystems uttam babu shrestha1,2, shiva gautam3, kamaljit s. Strategy for a regional response the human drama of climate change will largely be played out in asia, where over 60 per cent of the worlds population, around four billion people, live.
Climate change in the eastern himalayas our knowledge about the impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems is very limited. In terms of numbers of people impacted, climate change at the third pole is the most far reaching. The melting himalayas 1 tthe melting himalayashe melting himalayas rregional challenges and local impactsegional challenges and local impacts oof climate change on mountainf climate change on mountain eecosystems and livelihoodscosystems and livelihoods xu jianchu arun shrestha rameshananda vaidya mats eriksson kenneth. Climate change will impact the political environment in these countries.
The impacts of climate change are superimposed on a variety of other environmental and social stresses, many already recognised as severe ives and messerli. The himalayas popularly known as the third pole and water tower of asia has attracted global attention under the context of climate change as rainfall in this region has decreased. Jun 25, 20 however, we cannot ignore climate change and its associated challenges when dealing with these issues. The greater himalayan region the roof of the world contains the. Climate change and its implications for mountain 2 biodiversity, are recently receiving priority for biodiversity conservation in global agendas. The hindu kushhimalayas hkh is a dynamic landscape with a rich and remarkable biodiversity pei 1995. However, despite the extraordinary environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic importance of the himalayas, and despite their rapidly increasing ecological degradation, not much is known. In the himalayas, where the increase in temperatures is higher than the world average, climate change is expected to impact water resources in a particularly significant manner. Climate change in the himalayas current state of knowledge. Scientific evidence shows that most glaciers in south asias hindu kush himalayan region are retreating, but the consequences for. Committee on himalayan glaciers, hydrology, climate change, and. The most widely reported impact is the rapid reduction in glaciers, with. Climate change adaptation in himachal pradesh xi executive summary the preparation of a climate change adaptation focused sustainable water resources strategy was requested by the department of economic affairs and the state government of himachal pradesh. This is resulting in the accelerated melting of glaciers and the depletion of the massive water store of the region.
Perspap 01 the changing himalayas world water council. That is why we have started a participatory process for himalayan communities to engage in the discussion on climate change, including issues of climate justice, adaptation and disaster preparedness. This is resulting in the accelerated melting of glaciers and the depletion of. Nov 18, 2015 immerzeel w 2011 climate change impacts on the water resources of the hindu kush himalayas. The mountains act as a barrier to atmospheric circulation for both the summer monsoon and the winter westerlies. Yet in spite of the 1979 passage of the united nations convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination. Agreed on the roadmap for the climate summit for a living himalayas bhutan 2011 towards the vision of sacred himalayas for water, livelihoods, and biocultural heritage. Perspectives on water and climate change adaptation 1. Documents and key messages resembling each of the 16 perspectives. Exposing the protection gap in international law identifying the protection gap the above examples highlight the severe impact of climatic change on human settlements. Whereas climate specialists using measurements and simulations play down this statement by underlining uncertainties and differences between the west and east of the range, the media and development agencies tend to. The impact of global warming is already being felt much more in the himalayas than in other parts of the world.
With the risk of climate change coupled with increasing human pressures and threats, we must continue to enhance monitoring of the himalayan ecosystem and. The hindu kush himalayas hkh is a dynamic landscape with a rich and remarkable biodiversity pei 1995. Despite the immense likely environmental, economic and social costs of climate change, reliable information about the extent and magnitude of climate change and its consequences in the himalayas are not well known. Background climate change in the himalayas, a biodiversity hotspot, home of many sacred landscapes, and the source of eight largest rivers of asia, is likely to impact the wellbeing of.
This report synthesises the present knowledge about the consequences that climate change can have for the hindu. The changing himalayas impact of climate change on water resources and livelihoods in the greater himalayas the greater himalayan region, sometimes called the roof of the world, is noticeably impacted by climate change. Widespread climate change in the himalayas and associated. However, there is a clear gap in knowledge of economic impacts of climate change in the himalayas. It is widely considered a biodiversity hotspot, with notable biocultural diversity.
Climate change adaptation is at the center of nepals development plans and policies. Existing observations indicate that the temperature is rising at a higher rate in nepal and chinese regions of the himalayas compared with rest of the himalayas. This workshop provides the theme for this issue of sustainable mountain development. This in turn affects the runoff pattern of rivers draining from the glaciated catchments of himalayas. Bawa1,4,5 1university of massachusetts, boston, massachusetts, united states of america, 2harvard university herbarium, harvard university, cambridge, massachusetts, united. Travelling to everest is giving me the perfect opportunity to observe climate change in action.
Climate change in the himalayas the himalaya support nearly half of humanity him means snow alaya means mountain. Shrestha, ab 2008 resource manual on flash flood risk management. The fragile landscapes of the himalayan region are highly susceptible to natural hazards, and there is ongoing concern about current and potential climate change impacts. Climate change food security impact mainly through dry season water availability receding glaciers himalayan meltdown rate of warming in the himalayas is more than five times faster than warming globally. Pdf on jan 1, 2009, mats eriksson and others published the changing himalayas. In 2011, nepal created a climate change policy, the centerpiece of nepals response to climate change.
By far the most serious issue, however, is that of climate change and its impact on the himalayas. The effects of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity. There is a link between climate change and mountain vulnerability. The mountains of snow have also been called the third pole, since they are the third largest body of snow on our planet after the antarctic and arctic. Introduction climate change is an important aspec t in human life wu et al. The research exemplifies how different, empirical and theoretical models for decision. The ministry of population and the environment mope is the countrys climate change focal point. Distribution, posting, or copying of this pdf is strictly prohibited without written.
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