Climate Change and associated Glacier Retreat in Bhilangana Basin: A Case Study of Khatling Glacier, Uttarakhand from 2000 to 2018

Abstract

Climate change is the most pressing issues of 21st century which is mostly associated with anthropogenic factors caused due to rapid industaiztion There are various ways of studying climate change like changes in weather pattern ,shift in seasons ,sea level rise and Monitoring Glaciers is also one of the most efficient tool to assess climate change cause rising temperatures starts melting glacier at a faster pace .Himalayan Glaciers are more vulnerable to climate change and have recorded visible retreat in various parts . Glaciers occupy about 10% of the Earth's land surface (~ 16 million Km ) but hold roughly 77% of its fresh water; more than 96% of glacier ice lies in the Polar Regions, Antarctica and Greenland.In the Himalayas, the glaciers cover approximately 33,000 sq km area and this is one of the largest concentrations of glacier-stored water outside the Polar Regions. Post industrial revolution, with the rise in level of CO2, the natural climate of earth is susceptible to frequent unpredictable fluctuations. Since glaciers are considered as the best indicators to Climate Change, the study tries to deduce a positive relationship between the increasing temperatures and Climate change by studying Khatling Glacier, the lateral glacier situated in Tehri district(Uttarakhand) which is the source of river Bhilangana. The moraines on the side of the glaciers look like standing walls of gravel mud. In this paper Khatling Glacier is observed for a period from 2000-2017 with the help of Landsat and Sentinel Satellites . The study will help in assessing the glacial change in the region and also find out any developing Glacial Lakes (moraine dammed lakes ) in the region which will help in striking a relationship between rising temperature and climate change and also risk mitigation in case of Glacial lake outburst flood in case of dam breach in flood plains.