Himalayan Glaciers

As part of the programme focus on Himalayas the programme continues to monitor two key glaciers in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh through direct field interventions as well as media-related awareness campaigns.

The two sites that have been identified are Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Chota Sigri in Himachal Pradesh. The sites are bench mark glaciers that show regular retreat and shrinkage of ice mass in the past few years. The results from the studies on these two glaciers are helping to scale up the level of future impacts related work on climate change to include other areas in the region also. The field interventions were carried out in consultation with partner organizations that have specialized in Glaciology and Remote Sensing.

Gangotri Glacier, Uttarakhand

The programme in consultation with partner organizations has developed a detailed research strategy for data collection and analysis. Based on this , field work was undertaken in September 2006 to the snout of Gangotri glacier . Field data collection included GPS points at snout of the glacier as well as surrounding areas including the down stream river discharge zones. The team also took extensive photographic documentation related to snout position for the purpose of long term monitoring of glacier positions. While at the glacier the team also studied the health of the glacier in terms of crevasse formation following reports by mountaineers of severe stress on the glacier.

The comparison of the snout condition of Gangotri Glacier in 2005 (left image) and 2006 (right image). The 2006 condition shows severe stress and cracks developed in the ice mass.

It is clear from our recent analysis and surveys at the Gangotri Glacier continues be in a state of stress which is being reflected by the sharp crevasse formation which has further led to the falling of ice mass from the snout position. The year 2006 in particular saw a rapid change in the snout structure as compared to previous years indicating the ill health of the glacier. As a follow up the programme team decided to raise awareness on the issue through a media campaign.

Gangotri Glacier media campaign:
The team as part of its communications and media awareness related activities constantly engaged with media to increase the awareness related to the impacts of Climate Change on Himalayan glaciers. As part of our initiatives for 2006 , a media team from a National TV news channel CNN-IBN was taken to the Gangotri glacier to gain firsthand insights into the issue of glacial retreat in the Himalayas as well as to help the media team with understanding the issue in a larger perspective related to food and water security in the downstream portion of the Ganga. The media team apart from taking inputs from the WWF scientific team also covered social and environmental issues linked to the glacial retreat in the Himalayas.

The Gangotri glacier was covered on Television in November 2006 by the media team extensively as part of an environmental feature series “ Ganga is dying ” which reviewed the current status of the Ganga with reference to the Gangotri glacier and subsequently implications for water availability in towns along the banks of the Ganga. The series was well received and the coverage on the Gangotri glacier evoked responses from many viewers which have also been posted on the official website of CNN –IBN. The campaign footage will be used for future climate change related work on Himalayas as an awareness building tool.


Chota Sigri Glacier, Himachal Pradesh :

Mass balance studies also continued at Chota Sigri glacier ( 9 km) in , Himachal Pradesh along with other scientific institutions like Birla Institute of Scientific Research, Jaipur and a team of scientists from the Environmental Sciences Department of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and glaciologists from IRD, France. The Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre at WWF India which has specialises in RS/GIS analysis is collaborating with the interpretation and data analysis of the satellite imageries for both the glaciers.