It's time to put a brake on bucket-list bike and car trips as the shrinking of glaciers in Himalayanregion Ladakh, the battleground for the Indian and Chinese troopsalong Line of Actual Control (LAC), is due to the growing vehicular traffic, astudy has revealed.?
The study published by the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research is based on satellite images of 77 glaciers observed over two decades, from 2000 to 2020, in the Drass basin of western Himalaya.
The glaciers studied ranged in size from0.27 sq. km. to 14.01 sq. km, with an average size of 2.30 sq. km. The studyreports that the glacier area decreased from 176.77 sq. km. in 2000 to 171.46sq. km. in 2020, which is about 3% of the total glacier area.
¡°The pace of glacial recession variesgreatly among glaciers ranging from 0.24% to 15%. The snout retreat for theperiod ranged from 30 to 430 meters. Debris cover had a significant impact onglacier melting, with clean glaciers losing 5% more than debris-coveredglaciers. The average thickness change and mass loss of glaciers have been 1.27to 1.08 meters,¡± the study said per The Hindu.
Climatologist Shakil Ahmad Romshoo andfive research scholars, Khalid Omar Murtaza, Waheed Shah, Tawseef Ramzan, UmmerAmeen and Mustafa Hameed Bhat, participated in the study.
The analysis shows that glaciers at lower elevations receded by 4.10% whereas glaciers at mid and higher elevations receded by 3.23% and 1.46% over the period observed.
The study found that heavy vehicularmovement is the main cause for the rapid pace at which glaciers are receding inthe region. Black carbon concentration ranged from 287 to 3,726 nanograms percubic metre, with an average of 1,518 nanograms per cubic metre, ¡°which ismarkedly higher compared to the black carbon concentration reported from otherhigh-altitude locations in the Hindu Kush Himalayas¡±.
¡°From 1980 to 2020, black carbonconcentration has increased significantly from 338 nanogram per cubic meter in1984 to 634 nanogram per cubic meter in 2020. It is inferred that theincreasing black carbon concentration, due to the proximity to the nationalhighway (NH), has significantly affected the glacier health,¡± the study said.
The study points out that 17 glaciers situated close to the national highway showed higher glacier shrinkage (4.11%) and snout retreat (209 m) than the glaciers situated further away from the national highway, numbering 60, with glacier shrinkage (2.82%) and snoutretreat (148 m).
¡°Heavy vehicles are responsible for 60% ofblack carbon emissions,¡± it said.
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