51 million living in Himalayas to effect by climate change: Himachal Govt
The issue of climate change is a matter of global concern and mountain ecosystems are highly vulnerable to the untimely changes of climate change, which affect livelihood of 51 million of people living in the abode of mountain environment. This concern was expressed today in one-day workshop organized by the State Climate Change Center Shimla and Divecha Climate Change Center IISc Bangalore at Hotel Holiday Home for the policy makers and high officials of the administration on climate change and mountain ecosystem. Additional Chief Secretary Environment, Science and Technology Department, Himachal Pradesh Prabodh Saxena expressed concern that mountains have a special role in showing the effects of climate change ad around 51 million people living in the Himalayan ecosystem cultivate in mountainous regions and are affected by the effects of climate change in agriculture.
He said that the rapid development in the last years has adversely affected the environment and ecosystem of the entire Himalayan region. He said that work to fulfill the vision of the Center for Climate Change and to provide a healthy, stable and sustainable environment to our future generations. Himachal Pradesh government will definitely benefit from the decisions and suggestions of this workshop in the formulation of future plans and policies.
He said that we will all work together in this direction to create a reliable scientific database to develop various adaptation and mitigation strategies for the changing climate in this Himalayan state. Lalit Jain, Director, Department of Environmental Science, Technology, Himachal Pradesh and Member Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Council of Science, Technology and Environment Himcoast said in his address that today there will be hardly anyone in this world who is untouched by climate change. In this, especially agriculture is having more impact, for which we need to make new policies and bring in effects, so that we can reduce the impact of climate change. The keynote speaker in the workshop, Professor Anil Kulkarni, Distinguished Scientist, Divecha Kendra, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, informed that the increase in temperature by 2.6 degree Celsius, glaciers in Himachal Pradesh lose 79 percent of the ice by the end of the century and the temperature will increase by 4.1 degree Celsius. Growth Glaciers in Himachal Pradesh lose 87 percent of snow by the end of the century. Glacial runoff would increase in 2050 and then the phenomenon will start again.
Dr. R. Krishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (Maharashtra) and Dr. Lal Singh, Himalayan Research Group, Shimla also gave his views on the issue of climate change. On this occasion Apoorva Devgan, Member Secretary Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Board Shimla shared his views regarding his visit to Israel and climate change being done there.
Dr. SS Randhawa, Chief Scientific Officer, Himcoast Shimla shared his views on the work done on Himalayan ice and glaciers.
