Grim Reminder
   Date :21-Feb-2021

BY THE WAY_1  H
 
 
By ANSHUMAN BHARGAVA :
 
Climate change is a real threat today. It is present here and now and unless we act now, there is no way we can be saved. 
 
With the growing population in downstream areas and enhanced human activities, each future lake burst or glacial break off holds the potential to kill hundreds of people and permanently damage the ecology. 
 
THE recent glacial lake burst in the ecologically sensitive Chamoli region of Uttarakhand is a grim reminder of the rapid environmental degradation we are going through and the disasters that loom large before us for want of proper planning and assessment of the potential hazards of human development and proliferation in vulnerable zones. The latest tragedy is only one in a series of such big and small bedlams that have rocked the Himalayan region over the last few years, leading to losses to life and property in different degrees.
 
The Chamoli break off of the Nanda Devi glacial lake has led to the loss of around 37 lives, with close to 165 people still missing, whose chances of survival are getting dimmer with each passing day. Environmental experts have attributed the glacial melt simply to global warming. Glacier retreat and permafrost thaw are projected to continually decrease the stability of mountain slopes and increase the number and area of glacier lakes, according to the latest assessment reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. There is also a high chance that the number and area of glacier lakes will continue to increase in most regions in the coming decades, and new lakes will develop closer to steep and potentially unstable mountain walls where lake outbursts can be more easily triggered. With the growing population in downstream areas and enhanced human activities, each future lake burst or glacial break off holds the potential to kill hundreds of people and permanently damage ecology as well as infrastructure, thereby bleeding the State exchequer in relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding work. Climate change is a real threat today. It is present here and now and unless we act now, there is no way we can be saved. Climate change has triggered erratic weather patterns of late, like increased snowfall and rainfall, warmer winters etc. that have led to the melting of a lot of snow. The thermal profile of ice, say, experts, is increasing.
 
Earlier, the temperature of ice ranged from -6 to -20 degree C, it is now -2 making it more susceptible to melting. A study published in 2019, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, states that climate change is the primary driver of ice loss. The study states that a 1°C warming is causing over a vertical foot and half of the ice melting per year since 2000 — double the amount of melting that took place from 1975-2000. Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the start of the 21st century due to rising temperature, losing over vertical foot-and-half or ice each year and potentially threatening the water supply for hundreds of millions of people in countries, including India. In the next less than 15 years, the mountains of Himalayas will bid adieu to the last of glaciers unless there is a drastic correction in use of fossil fuels and other factors affecting global warming. Despite heightened efforts at using more renewable non-polluting resources for power generation and stemming the use of fossil fuel and shift to e-vehicles to lessen global warming, India being a vast country, the results are not immediately visible even as the implementation of a clean fuel regime across the country is a tough proposition. The rigour and rigidity with which things need to be implemented are still not seen in the country due to varied socio-economic considerations and logistic bottlenecks.
 
There are political as well as financial interests of vested groups involved, which slow things down and environment laws are bypassed easily. Unless there is a uniform discipline in policy and implementation, things are not going to move with the speed that is needed at this hour. Moreover, the construction of major roads and power projects in the fragile Himalayan landscape is always a dicey road to development and due consideration of the environmental impact of such projects must be taken into account before going ahead on these. Over the last 7-8 years, several mega projects, flagged by environmentalists for their potential danger to life and environment, have got approval without proper study of their impact and the results are showing disastrous consequences we are frequently fraught with. Things are in quite a mess in the hills with rampant construction activities of all sorts, unbridled tourist influx and cutting of trees and mountains for ‘development’.
 
This has led to frequent landslides, flooding and erratic rain and snowfall patterns in the region. Human greed and need for more have completely relegated the environment to the back-burner and the fact that we are prone to even greater catastrophes in near future is beyond anyone’s doubt. Politicians, companies, industries — all are doing their best to extract and exploit nature as best and as quickly as possible so that the maximum benefits are reaped and cornered before there is nothing left to milk. It is high time we learned from our mistakes and the grave losses the tragedies like Chamoli and Kedarnath bring. It is time we put a stop to activities beyond what is safe and permissible and rather do the needful to nurse a wounded environment. It is high time we put a cap on ‘development’ and drew the line, come what may.
 
The Government has to be very strict and specific on this aspect without any fear or favour because this is something we cannot compromise with. The laws are there; they only need to be followed in letter and spirit, which is where we lack. All the efforts at enhanced use of clean fuel and production of clean energy are offset if we allow blatant bleeding of ecology by our actions. The NDA II Government under PM Modi’s guidance and personal involvement in environmental protection and improvement has done a lot in greening the environment. But more needs to be done and the way we have already ravaged our ecology, there is no time to be complacent. By the way, unless drastic measures are taken to reverse the trend and stop all sorts of activities that lead to environmental hazard, no one can save us as we will be frequented by more menacing catastrophes that will lead to severe losses on all counts.