Impact of Climate Change on Himalayan Glaciers and Glacial Lakes: Case Studies on GLOF and Associated Hazards in Nepal and Bhutan

Impact of Climate Change on Himalayan Glaciers  and Glacial Lakes: Case Studies on GLOF and Associated Hazards in Nepal and Bhutan

Description

The global mean temperature is expected to increase between 1.4 to 5.8 degrees over the next hundred years. The consequences of this change in global climate are already being witnessed in the Himalayas where glaciers and glacial lakes are changing at alarming rates. Himalayan glaciers are retreating at rates ranging from 10 to 60m per year and many small glaciers (<0.2 sq.km) have already disappeared. Our study shows that the terminus of most of the high altitude valley glaciers in Bhutan, China, and Nepal are retreating very fast; vertical shifts as great as 100m have been recorded during the last fifty years and retreat rates of 30m per year are common.

Information

Author(s)
S.R. Bajracharya, P. Mool, B. Shrestha
Publisher
ICIMOD
Place published
Kathmandu
Date / journal vol no.
June 2007
Pages
127

References