BENGALURU: Researchers have found that the Himalayan region in India is highly vulnerable to disasters not only because of climate change but also population pressure.
From 2013 to 2022, the region recorded 44% of all the disasters that occurred in the country. The region saw 192 incidents of floods, landslides and thunderstorms during the period.
Members from the Centre for Science and Down to Earth magazine, who prepared a report, said torrential rains and cloudbursts in 2022 and 2023 were a precursor to more such disasters in the future.
Kiran Pandey, head of CSE’s Environment Resources Unit, said, “We assessed data related to disasters that occurred from 2013. Multiple studies have indicated that the region is vulnerable for disasters. There will be more disasters in the coming times.”
Kiran said from April 2021 to 2022, 41 incidents of landslides were reported in the country. Of them, 38 occurred in the region. Sikkim reported the highest of 11 such incidents.
She said, “What is more worrying is the human activities and population pressure on the region. Of the 14 cities, including Shimla, Agartala, Shillong, Dehradun and Nainital, in 11 states that were part of the study, it was found that the rise in population was much higher than the national average. To address the impact of population, these cities were supposed to prepare master plans. However, it was found that seven cities were yet to prepare draft master plans till Feb 2024.”
‘Temp rise in Himalayas above average’
Kiran said as per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, while the average rise in temperature at the national level was 1.5 degrees Celsius, it was 2.5 degrees Celsius in the Himalayan region Referring to the cloudbursts in 2022 and 23 in which 33 and 19 people died, respectively, she said more cases of ice melting, floods, landslides and thunderstorms could occur in the future.
Dr Kalachand Sain, head of Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, said multiple factors impacted the region. They included climatic and anthropogenic factors and environment degradation. Steps should be taken to protect the region.
The report noted that the worst and long-term damage was seen in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. Melting of the glaciers led to formation of glacial lakes in the Himalayan range. The number of such lakes in Uttarakhand and east of Himachal Pradesh increased from 127 in 2005 to 365 in 2015. Because of frequent cloudbursts, these lakes overflow or in many cases breach, causing havoc downstream.
Overall, the region has lost over 40% of its ice and is likely to lose up to 75% by the end of this century. With 90% of Himalayan agriculture being rain-fed, this will make it impossible to sustain the livelihoods of the people in the region. It will also endanger the lives of those in the plains who depend on water from the region, the report stated.