Glacier-Fed Himalayan rivers of India

Abstract

Whether scarcity of water is due to climate change or population explosion is a matter of debate among scientists. The demand for water resources will increase in the future. The depletion of resources in the Himalaya – the Third Pole, will have a serious effect on the major rivers of Asia that are fed from the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalaya. Scientific studies on the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau glaciers indicate that topography and local conditions favour the long sustenance of glaciers. In large parts of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, the rise in atmospheric temperature does not cause any serious impact on the glaciers, particularly in Karakorum Himalaya. The water supply from Upper Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers is likely to decrease by –8.4%, –17.6% and –19.6% respectively, and there is likelihood of an increase in mean upstream rainfall in the Indus (+25%), Ganges (+8%) and Brahmaputra (+25%), implying that the Himalayan rivers will continue to flow, with no substantial decrease in water budget and no fear of rivers to dry.