Sign In
Learn bits
Geography
Pradeep Kumar

07/02/21 13:20 PM IST

Water scarcity likely in the Himalayan catchment

In news

Glaciers of the Himalayas that make for a picturesque panorama are important sources of water for about a billion people who live in the basins of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers

Himalayan
  • Himalayan rivers are affected by the different components – rainfall-runoff, snow-melt and glacier-melt – and notes that if drier and warmer scenarios continue in the near future (2031–2050), we are more likely to face water stress in these catchment areas. 
  • The team studied five basins in the central Himalaya – Sutlej, Thulo Bheri, Kali Gandaki, Dudh Kosi and Arun.
  • They analysed the daily precipitation, maximum and minimum daily temperatures, wind speeds, land cover, elevation and soil properties. 
The study
  • The results show that the glacier-melt increases about 15% to 70% in a warmer environment with its present volume, but then decreases to 3%–38% substantially when the glacier volumes shrink. 
  • Snowpacks and glaciers are two important water storage units in the Himalaya.
  • Glacier melt will increase initially, they will shrink in size quickly and the amount of glacier melt will also decline in the latter end of the century.
Source: PIB, Indian Express

More Related Current Affairs View All

22 Aug

Uttarakhand State Authority for Minority Education (USAME) Bill, 2025

'The Uttarakhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Minority Education Bill, 2025, extending minority status benefits to institutions run by the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and

Read More

22 Aug

India needs a national space law urgently

'A nation with a strong base in science and technology is a nation with a strong backbone” — these words of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam ring truer than before as India celebrate

Read More

22 Aug

Organ transplantation

'The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) recently issued a direction stating that women patients and relatives of deceased donors will receive priority in org

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps