Climate change is for real. Winters are becoming milder, and summers are getting hotter. Jammu and Kashmir is warming at a higher rate than the world average. The average temperature of Jammu and Kashmir has increased by 1.2 degree centigrade in the last 100 years. What has sent alarm bells ringing is the rapid retreat of our glaciers. Glaciers in the picturesque Pangong region of Ladakh have shown a decline of 6.7 percent since 1990. Pangong region hosts the popular Pangong Lake, one of the biggest tourist attractions in India. The beauty and allure of this lake have attracted people from all over the world. The glacial area has shown a recession of 0.23 percent per year. Machoi glacier in the Kashmir Himalayas has also lost 29 percent of its glacial area since 1972. Machoi glacier shares proximity with the Srinagar-Kargil Highway and directly bears the brunt of the automobile emissions. Glaciers in the northwestern region of Jammu and Kashmir are reportedly retreating at higher rates as compared to other parts of the Himalayan arc. The glaciers are losing 0.61 percent of their area on average per year. Glaciers primarily melt due to climate change and depleted precipitation. Waking up to the crisis, the Centre has roped in the Indian Space Research Organisation to monitor the glaciers, glacial lakes, snowfall, water resources, landslides, avalanches and other natural hazards in Ladakh. Using satellite and geospatial technologies, ISRO has generated a database of more than 2,000 glaciers in An inventory of 3,219 glacial lakes, which are larger than 0.25 hectares, has been prepared under the National Hydrology Project of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. GLOF risk modelling has also been carried out for high-risk lakes in Ladakh. ISRO provides satellite-based information on floods, GLOF events and forest fires to the Ladakh administration during major disasters. The measures look perfectly neat on paper. Yet, there is more that needs to be done to protect our glaciers. We need to take proactive steps to reduce carbon emissions. Banning tree felling, carrying out aggressive afforestation drives, and removing encroachments should be prioritised. Policymakers should address the root cause rather than treating the symptoms. Several of our glaciers are accessible to the people. Plastic and litter pollution at glaciers and glacial lakes have reached an alarming proportion due to unrestricted entry. We need to stop it in its tracks. If need be, only EVs should be allowed to ply in sensitive zones. The government should enact a new law that makes polluting tourist palces, lakes, glaciers a non-bailable penal offence. The government needs to smell the coffee and take necessary steps to reverse the effects of climate change. Save glaciers, save Jammu and Kashmir!
Save glaciers!
