It is a clear October day, high up near the glaciated regions of Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone. But, there is barely a speck of snow on these peaks. They stand bare, with exposed grey rock.
Till a few years ago, all these peaks appeared white all year round to residents of Sukhi and surrounding villages (altitude of 2300 m), now snow covers these peaks barely for a month or two.
Sukhi’s villagers are trying to come to terms with the unforeseen changes that glaciers in the Bhagirathi basin have undergone in the past decade or so.
Sukhi, a picturesque village, about 30 km downstream of Gangotri, surrounded by several glaciers and glaciated regions including Gaumukh, Bandarpunch, the Sreekanth peak (an ice clad mountain), Satopanth, Draupadi Ka Danda, Kala peak–another important ice covered mountain has been at the frontline of climate crisis.
Villagers are concerned about the loss of their common resource–the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Bhagirathi and by monsoon’s changing, aggressive character over the mountains.
Gobind Singh’s family has been bearing witness to all this. “I explored some glaciers in 1973 and 1974 along with a team of mountaineers. At that time the glaciers were very large and stable. They looked like blue rock. There were some deep crevices also and one could not imagine how deep they may be. Gaumukh used to be very close, in my assessment it has now retreated by a couple of kms since the 1970’s. Glaciers are in very poor health and some may have disappeared,” said Gobind Singh (71), a farmer, pointing to a bare rock faced mountain side. “This used to have ice all year round.”
His son, Sanjeev Rana (40), also a farmer, connects this loss of glaciers to two probable causes. “High Himalayas always had what we call shower– a spray of light rain. These unusually heavy spells of rain have started very recently. This coincides with the fact that there is very less snow in recent years. This is not a rainy region. It is supposed to be dry. We are shocked by the magnitude of rains in monsoon in the past 5-6 years,” Rana said, seeming extremely concerned about the impact of monsoon on not only the glaciers but also their apple farming which has faced a massive setback as ideal temperatures for a good crop are not being recorded any more.
“We have lived all our lives here. I have explored Bandarpunch glacier (a 4 day trek from Sukhi) several times and within my lifetime, it has changed from its icy blue colour to largely grey and black as the moraine is now exposed. The glacier has gone far back,” added Rana.
Rana’s family is dependent on agriculture. They have some apple orchards, and grow millets, lentils and potatoes. “ We grow the Delicious Royal variety of apples. These have a life of 70-80 years but now they are living only for 25 to 30 years. The harvest quality is deteriorating every year. It is critical that the fruit gets a temperature of about -15 to 20 degree C to be in best quality and taste. The period with such a temperature threshold has also shortened dramatically. If it gets any warmer, we will not be able to grow apples,” Rana explained.
On August 5, a hanging glacier feeding the KheerGanga channel collapsed leading to a series of flash floods in Dharali, less than 10 km away from Sukhi. The flash floods washed away an entire village and several people. The bodies could not be recovered and hence there is no count of how many may have died.
Rana’s family is aware that such glacial collapse events are likely around Sukhi also.
“Look at that mountain. If the moraine debris fall into the Bhagirathi, the floods will break the hydropower projects downstream and devastate villages in its path. This is expected. But we are not thinking of fleeing from here,” said Gobind Singh. His wife Ram Devi, who along with other women from the family leading the agricultural work said “We are standing guard here. We can forewarn villagers downstream if something untoward happens. We are also like guards against border intrusion. But to stay put we need schools, hospitals here. Villagers are migrating for the sake of the children’s education or for healthcare.”
Gobind Singh believes that rapid warming has led to the precarious state of glaciers in Bhagirathi zone. Others like Rajesh, who is a rescue volunteer based in Gangnani believes that recession of glaciers, increasing disasters and monsoon extremes are linked to increased footfalls in eco-sensitive zones. “The high Himalayas were isolated for centuries. These are young mountain ranges and extremely sensitive. In recent years we are having too many people visiting these places which were otherwise out of reach. I believe this definitely has a role to play.”
Rajesh who was part of the Dharali rescue fears that scores of people may be buried in the Dharali debris. Here is a man who lost 5 of his family members, pointed Rajesh to a man at the Gangnani market “I have met many such people who have lost their loved ones. We need swift action to stop recession of glaciers.”
“One important thing that we should note is that debri cover has significantly increased over Himalayan glaciers. This is because ice has thinned and carrying capacity of those glaciers have reduced. They have started looking very dark in colour. There are a lot of papers on the amount of debri cover that has gone up in Himalayan glaciers. This is also caused by overall degradation of environment in the region. We know that snow has higher albedo effect but there is significant reduction in albedo taking place possibly because of excessive tourist activity. Black carbon deposits in the glaciers also leads to reduced albedo which causes more absorption of heat. My observation is also that the lower albedo has led to rapid melting of ice. Reducing albedo is an irreversible process and hence darkening of high mountain is taking place. Our assessment is that after mid-century the contribution of glaciers to river flow will reduce significantly. This is also because precipitation in the form of snow has greatly reduced,” said Anil Kulkarni, distinguished visiting scientist, Divecha Center for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science.
According to a paper by Leibniz Institute for Financial Research, Goethe University, Bonn University and others published in Nature journal last year, there is widespread global support for climate action. In a representative survey for the study across 125 countries, interviewing nearly 130,000 individuals, 69% expressed willingness to contribute 1% of their personal income, 86% endorsed pro-climate social norms and 89% demanded intensified political action. Countries facing heightened vulnerability to climate change show a particularly high willingness to contribute. In India 80% of those surveyed called for political action on climate change.
Consult us on infrastructure
The solution to preventing disasters in the para glacial zones is consultation with locals, said Mohan Singh, Gobind Singh’s brother who is retired from the army and now focuses on environmental issues in the region.
A sore point for locals here is a bypass planned under the Char Dham project, an all weather road that connects with the India-China border, considered to be a strategic route from a defence point of view by the Centre. The last 150 km-long stretch of Char Dham road, which will pass through the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone, will have to adhere to a minimum width of 10m, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said in Parliament last year.
The bypass alignment is through the toe of old landslide debris that extends down from Sukhi Top to the Bhagirathi River, experts have flagged in the past. Then there is a 10 km stretch with old growth deodar trees that is up for widening also under the project.
“Thousands of Deodar trees have been marked here for felling. If that happens, the hill side will definitely give way. Look at how the roots of deodar are holding the soil. Clearing these trees will only make this strategic route very unsafe. That is why we are asking for consultation for so long,” added Mohan Singh.
“Similarly, if you build a road in a landslide prone mountain, it is bound to face severe risks. This is not a regular region. Outsiders may not understand the geology here because it requires continued observation. Since 1991, Mohansingh and I have been cautioning the government on building road infrastructure. Roads are very important but they have to align with the local geology. This is all moraine debri from 1803. Moraine debris is not stable,” added Gobind Singh.
Glaciers will give way
According to an assessment by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 195 of 7500 glacial lakes in the Himalayas are at risk. The Central Government has approved National Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Mitigation Project (NGRMP) for its implementation in four states– Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand at a financial outlay of Rs. 150.00 crore.
The high powered committee on char dham project headed by Ravi Chopra had warned against construction of dams and other large infrastructure above the main central thrust or the paraglacial zone in the BESZ.
According to the master plan of BESZ, 238 glaciers are in the Bhagirathi basin of which many may be receding.
The purpose of having a Zonal Master Plan is to regulate the developmental activities in the region in such a way that it ensures: 1. environmental and ecological protection of the entire endangered area, falling in the catchment of river Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi town and holistic development of the area ensuring livelihood security of the people living in the area including protection of their traditional rights and privileges.
According to the master plan, widening of existing roads/construction of new roads in the BESZ can be taken up only after detailed environment impact assessment and appropriate mitigation measures.
HT reported in May that glaciers are more sensitive to global warming than previously estimated, a new study published in the journal, Science has found.
Only 24% of present-day glacier mass is likely to be remaining if the world warms to 2.7 degree C, the warming trajectory expected based on current climate policies. In contrast, limiting warming to 1.5 degree C could preserve 54% of glacier mass, the study has found.
Over Hindu Kush Himalayas, only 40% of 2020 glacier mass is expected to remain at 1.5 degree C warming and 25% to remain at 2 degree C warming, the paper has projected. But, since HKH is a very large area, there are regional differences which need to be considered.
The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) and the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) is assessing the risks of 13 glacial lakes across the Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Tehri, Uttarkashi, and Bageshwar districts. WIHG specifically monitors Vasundhara Tal in the Dhauliganga Basin, Chamoli which has been expanding, the ministry of Jal Shakti informed Lok Sabha in March.
Bandarpunch has retreated at the rate of 25.5 m per year between 1960 and 1999. Gangotri retreated at the rate of 18.8 m per year until 1996 but recent studies have indicated that recession rate has lowered for Gangotri mainly due to debri accumulation which slows down melt. Currently, WIHG monitors ten glaciers: four in the Central Himalaya, six in the Western Himalaya and Karakoram. The monitored glaciers in Uttarakhand include Dokriani Glacier in the Bhagirathi Basin which has retreated at a rate of 15-20 meters per year since 1995; Chorabari Glacier in the Alaknanda Basin retreated by approximately 9-11 meters per year between 2003 and 2016 among others.
(The reporter is a recipient of Promise of Commons Media Fellowship, on the significance of Commons and its community stewardship)
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