GreenReader

Sometimes I feel the human psyche prefers staying in self created utopian world and often opts to overlook nature’s critical confrontation. Whether one wants to believe it or not climate change is creating serious impact on each of ours future. Fragile ecosystem world over is getting affected and leading to an appalling future.
Latest reports revealed by the Indian Meteorological Department, warn that the Himalayan glaciers could disappear completely by 2035 if the earth continues to warm at its current rate. The tip of Kolhai glacier in Kashmir, one of the largest glaciers in the Himalayas, had receded by almost 22 metres in 2007 while several smaller glaciers have disappeared completely. The Himalayan glaciers are the reserve of India’s three great rivers basins, the Ganga, Indus, Barahmaputra. Due to the earth warming up process, about 70% of glaciers are diminishing at a startling a terrifying rate.
Environmentalist and geologist fear that the Himalayan glaciers are melting down faster than any other in the world. The freshwater supply is unquestionably getting affected due to the glacial vanishing act and hence causing adverse effects on the biodiversity. Future repercussions of these natural alterations portray the appalling truth of heading towards a future resulting in water shortage and other consequences like allusion on regional food shortage, flash floods followed by droughts, rise in river and sea level etc. Besides the water shortage for millions of people and irrigation, the outcome of this upheaval will affect the aquatic ecosystem.

The latest report of UNEP almost confirms this dismaying prediction, the experts warn about the probability of half the world facing water shortage by next 60-70 years that is by 2080. Disrupting water flow patterns and increasing severity of natural upheavals like floods, droughts and storms are all leading to diminution of drinking water table. Asia, especially India and China which are already suffering the outfall of over population are being considered to be the most vulnerable target of this disastrous forecast.

Do these reports sound very far fetching and distant?? Are we thinking it’s too far in future for us to bother?? But, it is not, even though the ecologists are warning us of a possible future menace, the evidences of these forthcomings are already all around us and being felt by us, each of us. During a period when the escalating population is posing a threat to the country, I dread to visualize the future of children who are being born even as I type this article. Is this what we call the development of our country, a “water-less” future for upcoming generations??

Mid November and Ahmedabad still awaits winter, while nostalgic hopes and memories of the scheduled weather keeps the city folks apprehensive, greater mysteries of the role of global warming is being discovered all over the world. According to the most recent research, it was discovered that beneath the ice layer of giant Byrd Glacier in east Antarctica, overflow of water is speeding the sub glacial lake flood. The latest study done by Dr Leigh Sterns is matter of world consideration.

Previous reports of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007 expressed the uncertainty of the correlation of global warming and the ongoing ice behavior leading to rise in sea levels. Dr Stern’s recent research brings into light the possible ice- dynamics which is lubricating the base of the glacier leading to melt down of ice sheets into the ocean.

It is being noted that subglacial lakes in Antarctica periodically shed huge quantities of water. Water in the lakes remain liquid despite being buried beneath a mile of ice due to the warmth from underlying rocks, overflow of these water streams affect the mountains of ice above. The inundation of these lakes lifts the ice by several meters, and when the water spills over in flood, the elevation sinks again. Within the past two years rapid changes in the ice elevation has been marked with an increase in the speed of ice flow by almost 10%, on an average Byrd glacier used to channel 20 billion tons of ice towards the Ross Sea, which has now increased to 22 billion tons of ice.

Reading this report may sound like a regular phenomenon of nature, but over viewing the larger picture brings in lot of apprehension about the future. On one hand glaciers all around the world are melting on the other hand rise in sea level due to various factors is causing mayhem. The interconnectivity of these phenomenons might still be under dispute but the affect of the earth heating up can be see world over.