Growing vehicular emissions causes threat to Ladakh’s glaciers, says journal study

Study of 77 glaciers regarding Growing vehicular emissions withinside the Drass basin reveals proximity to country wide toll road influences glacier health. The decadal tempo at which glaciers are receding in Ladakh’s Drass region, a key battleground in the course of the 1999 Kargil war, shows a grave chance to Himalayan glaciers. A latest look at attributes this to the developing vehicular site visitors withinside the region, which is likewise witnessing a big build-up of navy on each the perimeters of Line of Actual Control (LAC) due to the fact 2020.

The look at posted via way of means of the magazine Environmental Science and Pollution Research is primarily based totally on satellite tv for pc pics of seventy seven glaciers found over decades, from 2000 to 2020, withinside the Drass basin of western Himalaya. The glaciers studied ranged in length from 0.27 sq. km. to 14.01 sq. km, with a mean length of 2.30 sq. km. The look at reviews that the glacier region reduced from 176.seventy seven sq. km. in 2000 to 171.forty six sq. km. in 2020, which is ready 3% of the overall glacier region.

“The tempo of glacial recession varies substantially amongst glaciers starting from 0.24% to 15%. The snout retreat for the duration ranged from 30 to 430 meters. Debris cowl had a extensive effect on glacier melting, with smooth glaciers dropping 5% greater than debris-blanketed glaciers.

The common thickness alternate and mass lack of glaciers had been 1.27 to 1.08 meters,” the look at pointed out. Climatologist Shakil Ahmad Romshoo and 5 studies scholars, Khalid Omar Murtaza, Waheed Shah, Tawseef Ramzan, Ummer Ameen and Mustafa Hameed Bhat, participated withinside the look at.