Hamirpur (HP), June 6 (UNI) Himalayan glaciers have shrunk from an area of thirty lakh hectares to 3.9 lakh hectares in 40 years due to increasing global warming, according to Dharamsala University professor.

"Glaciers are melting rapidly due to global warming. Its effect is especially being seen more on small glaciers. Till four decades ago, the area of glacier in the Himalayan range was 3 million hectares," said Anurag, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science at the Central University of Dharamsala, who has been researching glaciers in Himachal Pradesh since 2002.
He pointed out that the impact of global warming is more on small glaciers spread over an area of less than two square kilometers and these glaciers are breaking down and melting rapidly.

He said that there are about 9,575 glaciers in the entire Himalayas from Sikkim to Kashmir.
Chamba district in Himachal has up to 90 per cent small glaciers, while the tribal districts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur also have 50-50 small glaciers.
Glaciers are found only in the Himalayan regions of India such as Sikkim in the east, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the middle and Kashmir in the west.
He said, "All glaciers are showing negative fluid balance due to global warming, due to which they are melting more and due to this their area is decreasing.
"To save the glaciers, we need to focus on sustainable development. Emphasis needs to be given on electric vehicles instead of petrol-diesel-powered vehicles, stopping tree cutting in forests, preventing forest fires, stopping smoke and pollution from industries and planting trees."

In the Himalayan region, though the water from most of the glaciers reaches rivers and streams, in Lahaul, 90 per cent of the water is going into drains apart from Chandra and Bhaga rivers.

UNI CSS RNJ