Topic– Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
6) The receding glaciers in Hindu Kush underline the need for cooperation between countries that share Himalayas. Comment.(250 words)
Why this question
The impact of climate change on glaciers in the Hindu-Kush region is prominent and scary. The ranges provide water and livelihood security to billions of people. In this context it is important to discuss the need for cooperation among countries sharing the Himalayas.
Directive word
Comment- here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to express our knowledge and understanding about the recession of glaciers in the Hindu-Kush range and express our opinion on the need for the countries sharing the Himalayas to cooperate in this regard.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the Hindu-Kush and the Himalayas. E.g mention the countries which share Himalayas.
Body-
Discuss the recession of the Himalayan glaciers and how they could impact socio-economy of the region and Bring out the need for the nations sharing Himalayas to protect the melting glaciers. E.g
- Success in meeting the Paris Climate Pact’s most ambitious target might not be enough, a recent study says, to prevent a serious meltdown in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.
- the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development’s (ICIMOD) “Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment” reveals that more than 35 percent of the glaciers in the region could retreat by 2100, even if the global temperature rise is capped at 1.5º C.
- This could destabilise the hydrology of large parts of South Asia, China and Myanmar.
- Regions in higher altitudes tend to warm faster than low-lying lands.
- This will have a major bearing on the ice-fields, which are the largest repository of permafrost outside the polar regions. The region’s snow is the source of 10 major river systems — including the Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra and Mekong — in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar.
- Large-scale warming could drastically alter the river flows in these countries. The receding glaciers could cause a deluge in the rivers during the monsoon while the flows are likely to plummet during the dry seasons, with serious implications for irrigation, hydropower and ecosystem services.
- The number of intense precipitation days and intensity of extreme precipitation have increased overall in the last five decades. If these trends persist, the frequency and magnitude of water-induced hazards in the (Hindu Kush Himalaya) region will increase,” it says. This is a significant conclusion given that developments in the Himalayas are known to have a spin-off on the monsoon in the Subcontinent.
- There is a need for more data sharing between the countries that share the Hindu Kush Himalayas.
- political differences between these countries should not come in the way of joint efforts to build resilience of vulnerable communities and shore up the region’s water security.
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
