Himalaya’s receding glaciers suffer neglect

Scientists monitor only a few of India’s vital glaciers, which are receding by as much as 100 feet each year.

NEW DELHI

In the Himalayas, the Gangotri Glacier, one of India’s largest, is entitled to an even more dubious distinction. Recent studies reveal that the Gangotri, which forms a mass of ice about 18 miles long, is retreating at a rate of more than 100 feet a year.

But according to government officials and environmental groups like Greenpeace, very little has been done in the way of a rigorous scientific study. Scientists are monitoring glacial melting on only a handful of the 7,000 glaciers that cover the Indian Himalayas.

And at such a rapid retreat, a gradual increase in droughts, flash floods, and landslides are not the only issue to worry about, say environmentalists. Just when power companies are planning more energy sources to power India’s growing economy, a rising level of sediment in regional rivers is creating havoc for many grids.

Christian Science Monitor