on the current state of scientific knowledge on the Himalayan
glaciers.It will establish an institutional mechanism to monitor the
trends and variability of glaciers and study the impact of changes on
the hydrological regime in the region.This was decided at a high-power
meeting of the agencies involved in the Ministry last week which
observed that there was a need to continuously monitor seasonal snow
cover and variability of glaciers. The white paper will be prepared by
V.K. Raina, former Deputy Director-General, Geological Survey of India
(GSI) . The paper will be finalised by August 10 for public debate.The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has prepared a proposal for
setting up the mechanism in collaboration with the Ministry, and the
Department of Science and Technology which has been accepted.The
initial expenditure on the mechanism will be Rs.3 crore.The experts
told the meeting that there was no conclusive evidence to suggest that
the rate of retreat of the Himalayan glaciers was being caused by
climate change and that the rate of retreat was accelerating, since
the period of observation was short.However, the experts pointed out
that this did not mean that the health of the glaciers was improving
and as evidence suggested that debris accumulation near snouts in some
glaciers was significant.
The Hindu, July 19
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