Entire Himalayan Region Research Articles

Fluctuations of Qiangyong glacier in southern Tibetan Plateau over the past 500 years recorded by proglacial lacustrine sediments

The glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau have undergone profound changes due to rapid global warming, but the nature of their response to climate change at various settings remains unclear. This study focuses on the analysis (grain sizes, magnetic susceptibility, and element ratios) of a sedimentary core from a proglacial lake (Qiangyong (QY) Co) at the southern Tibetan Plateau, based upon the 210Pb and 137Cs dating, aiming to unveil the fluctuations of the QY glacier over the recent 500 years and its response to global warming. Four pre-1900s distinct glacier advance/cold intervals (C1: 1560s, C2: 1660s, C3: 1760s and C4: 1860s), a minor advance in the 1950s and an extensive glacier retreat since the 2010s were discerned. There are five glacier fluctuation cycles, each spanning approximately 100 years, correlating generally well with the Northern Hemisphere temperature patterns on a century time scale. The glacier advances align with the cold periods, whereas the retreats correspond to the warm intervals. However, coarse grain sizes indicated a marked glacier shrinkage of the QY glacier since the 1920s owing to global warming, over-shading the inherent 100-years fluctuation cyclic variations intrinsic to glaciers. The reason is that after QY glacier has significantly shrunk to higher altitude, the response of the glacier to climate change is no longer as sensitive as at the lower altitude, even under post-industrial-revolution warming. The QY glacier and even the entire Himalayan region will face the threat of glacier melting during the 21st century, but dynamic patterns of glacier retreats in higher Himalayan regions may differ from that in the low-altitude.

Variations in glacier coverage in the Himalayas based on optical satellite data over the past 25 years

Because of the large area covered by glaciers, their extent and importance demands continuous assessment of the glaciers. In this study, we analysed the distribution and changes in glacier coverage throughout the Himalayas from 1990 to 2015. The results showed that 12,211 glaciers were identified in the whole mountain range, covering an area of 23229.27 km2 in 1990. Over the past 25 years, the glacier area decreased by 10.99% (2553.10 km2) with an accelerated shrinkage in the period 2010–2015. There was a normal distribution between glacial area and elevation with maximum glacier area between 5400–5600 m. The glacier area decreased at all elevations, and the highest absolute ice loss occurred in 5200–5400 m. The total area of debris-free glaciers was larger than debris-covered glaciers, and in consequence, the annual shrinking rate was three times higher (15.56% versus 5.22%). The features of these two types of glaciers suggest moraine can inhibit glacial ablation. The debris over Himalayas is mainly distributed in gentle zones where elevations are in the range of 4400–5200 m. The ice coverage of the temperate glaciers is larger than that of continental glaciers with greater area loss but lower shrinkage rate (9.84%·versus 13.73%) in 1990–2015. These findings provide detailed glacier inventory data for the entire Himalayan region and updated information for the study of glaciers on a large scale.

INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL WARMING ON HIMALAYAN REGION OF INDIA: A REVIEW

Climate change and global warming is adversely affecting the whole world. Himalaya is no exception either. Due to global warming and several human activities in the last 2-3 decades, a number of environmental problems have occurred in Uttarakhand. Increase in the number of landslides, increase in the level of CO2 on Himalaya, increasing cases of forest fires, alteration in vegetation, upward march of species, warming of atmosphere, adverse effects on biodiversity are some of these problems. Due to uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, entire Himalayan region including Uttarakhand is facing several types of changes. The present study is an effort to point out the problems faced by Himalaya in Uttarakhand region and finding some solutions and suggestions to handle this grim situation.

Socio-Ecological Systems (SESs)—Identification and Spatial Mapping in the Central Himalaya

The Himalaya is a mosaic of complex socio-ecological systems (SESs) characterized by a wide diversity of altitude, climate, landform, biodiversity, ethnicity, culture, and agriculture systems, among other things. Identifying the distribution of SESs is crucial for integrating and formulating effective programs and policies to ensure human well-being while protecting and conserving natural systems. This work aims to identify and spatially map the boundaries of SESs to address the questions of how SESs can be delineated and what the characteristics of these systems are. The study was carried out for the state of Uttarakhand, India, a part of the Central Himalaya. The presented approach for mapping and delineation of SESs merges socio-economic and ecological data. It also includes validation of delineated system boundaries. We used 32 variables to form socio-economic units and 14 biophysical variables for ecological units. Principal component analysis followed by sequential agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis was used to delineate the units. The geospatial statistical analysis identified 6 socio-economic and 3 ecological units, together resulting in 18 SESs for the entire state. The major characteristics for SESs were identified as forest types and agricultural practices, indicating the influence and dependency of SESs on these two features. The database would facilitate diverse application studies in vulnerability assessment, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and other socio-ecological studies. Such a detailed database addresses particularly site-specific characteristics to reduce risks and impacts. Overall, the identified SESs will help in recognizing local needs and gaps in existing policies and institutional arrangements, and the given methodological framework can be applied for the entire Himalayan region and for other mountain systems across the world.

Causes of the triggering of Chamoli glacier burst of 7th February 2021 in Uttarakhand, India

The Himalaya, the youngest and the tallest folded mountain range of the world, is frequently affected by natural disasters.18 In the form of flash floods, cloudbursts or glacial lake outburst floods, the entire Himalayan region is highly vulnerable to natural hazards. In this context, the State of Uttarakhand of the Indian Himalayan Region has been the most vulnerable one among all the natural disaster-affected states in India.

Betula utilis D. Don: an Ecologically and Economically Important Timberline Species of Himalayan Region in Jeopardy

Betula utilis D. Don (Betulaceae), commonly known as Himalayan Birch or Bhojpatra especially in Indian Himalayan Region is socio-culturally and ecologically valued and considered a keystone species which plays a significant role in the functioning of the timberline ecosystem. It forms an integral part of day-to-day life of the Himalayan people, as it is deeply associated with the culture of the locals. The historical uses of Betula utilis and its subsequent over exploitation to meet-out day-to-day requirements, market forces coupled with global warming put pressure on its natural population and have caused loss of habitat in many of its native grooves in the entire Himalayan Region. The decline in the size of population of Betula utilis is due to its area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, potential level of exploitation, effects of introduced taxa and attack of pathogens. Further, it grows in high altitude tree line zone which is almost inaccessible and most vulnerable region due to global warming or climatic shift. In this backdrop, keeping in view the multiple uses of the species, the present study aims to review and document the ecological parameters, traditional uses, commercial aspects and conservation and management concerns of this valuable species.

Status of migration in Uttarakhand: A case study of Rudraprayag District

Migration is one of the important dimensions in constructing population dynamics in any region. Migration is often the outcome of numerous multidimensional factors. They might be physical, economic, socio-cultural political factors or blend of one or more. In the present time economic factors are main responsible factors behind the migration in the developing and under developed countries. Migration has a direct impact on the population size of areas of origin and destination (Goldscheider, 1987). The entire Himalayan region is completely affected by migration and the state of Uttarakhand is no excetion to this, which has shown a constant increasing trend in intra rural urban migration since its formation in 2000. The Rudraprayag region in Uttarakhand is one of the rugged terrain areas with harsh climatic conditions and limited employment opportunities. Therefore, the study tries to analyses the migration trend in the area based on the primary survey of 16 villages. The maximum share of migrants is due to job and employment which makesup to 13.58% in the region. Education is the second most important region with 11.13% due to which people tend to migrate in the region especially the younger population. The migration condition of Rudraprayag district is presented in this paper.

An overview about Hedychium spicatum: a review

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) serves as tremendous repository of plant biodiversity which is derived from extreme altitudinal gradients and phenomenal geographic provinces and has been proved as the richest reservoir of medicinal plants and aromatic plants. The lavish range of plant biodiversity in IHR is supported by various landscape features that provide myriad of habitats. Hedychium spicatum Buch-Ham (Zingiberaceae), commonly known as spiked ginger lily, is found in the entire Himalayan region. Rhizome contains about 4% of essential oil and its phytochemical investigations have shown the presence of a variety of terpenoids (monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids and diterpenoids).Traditionally, the rhizomes are used in the treatment of respiratory disorders, fevers, tranquilizer, hypotensive, antispasmodic, CNS depressant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, pediculicidal and cytotoxic activities. The family Zingiberaceae well known for its immense medicinal values is distributed widely throughout the tropics, particularly in Southeast Asia. Zingiberaceae family is an important natural resource that provides many useful products for food, spices, medicines, dyes, perfume and aesthetics. Ethnobiologically, H. spicatum is not commonly popular throughout the Indian Himalayan region, but multifarious uses are practised specifically in different regions. In this review, we will briefly explain about the various multi-faceted aspects about Hedychium spicatum.
 Keywords: Hedychium spicatum, Chemical composition, Rhizomes, Zingiberaceae.

Identification of landslide-prone zones in the geomorphically and climatically sensitive Mandakini valley, (central Himalaya), for disaster governance using the Weights of Evidence method

The entire Himalayan region is prone to disasters, with many people being vulnerable to hydroclimatic threats such as extreme rainfall-driven floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslide lake outburst floods (LLOFs), and landslides triggered by rainfall. Landslides and floods are related, as the former cause the lakes that burst, and floods can undercut slopes and cause landslides. During the past 200years, landslides and floods caused by LLOFs in the Garhwal Himalaya have occurred in 1894, 1970, and 1978; but the most disastrous event, in terms of loss of life and economic impact, occurred in June 2013, which was a result of extreme rainfall in the Higher Himalaya and breaching of a moraine-dammed lake, very short-lived LLOFs, and rainfall-induced runoff and landslides. Outmigration from the area as a result of the 2013 event has caused anxiety about the future of the economy and also concerns about security of a state that has an international border. As a contribution to planning and reconstruction to secure the livelihoods of the local people and to entice migrants to return, this paper identifies zones in the Mandakini valley susceptible to landslides using a ‘Weights of Evidence’ approach. The roles of climate, geology, and geomorphology of the valley are also given attention to explain the reasons for the disastrous event of June 2013. The results of the research presented here may be an important input to disaster governance.

Summer monsoon rainfall trends in the Indian Himalayan region

Impacts of the changing climatic regime on the trends of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) are explored in this study for the Indian Himalayan region (IHR). The analysis is carried out for the period of 1951–2007 using a daily high resolution gridded data from APHRODITE project. At first, the percent departures of decadal rainfall are estimated from the long-term June to September rainfall values for the western, central, and eastern Himalayan (WH, CH, and EH) regions. Next, changes in the frequency of strong and weak phases of monsoon intra-seasonal oscillation are investigated. A non-parametric statistical method (Sen’s slope estimator) is applied to the seasonal (i) mean rainfall, (ii) maximum rainfall, and (iii) frequency of extreme rainfall events of WH, CH, and EH regions to identify changes in their decadal, multiple year normals (NY1; 1951–1980 and NY2; 1981–2007) and long-term (NY3; 1951–2007) trends. The inter annual to inter decadal variabilities of the frequency of extreme rainfall events are explored by analyzing statistically significant intrinsic mode functions of the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method. Results of our analyses have revealed existence of an alternative decadal oscillation of scanty and excessive summer monsoon rainfall trends for the WH, whereas excessive rainfall is observed in the last three decades (1980–2007) over the CH region. It is also observed that the frequencies of both monsoon strong and weak phases are decreasing for the entire Himalayan region. No significant trend is observed for the WH and CH regions for the normal periods NY1, NY2, and NY3 when seasonal average rainfall is considered. However, a significant (p value < 0.05) negative trend of −0.04 mm/day rain is observed for the EH region during NY1 period. Similarly, the seasonal maximum rainfall trends for all the normal periods are found to be negative of which trends of −0.12 and −0.43 mm/day during NY3 and NY1 are observed for WH and EH regions, respectively (p value < 0.05). No significant enhancement in the extreme rainfall event frequencies is observed for the entire IHR during 1951–2007. However, a statistically insignificant positive trend in the extreme event frequencies is observed for the EH region. A dominant cycle of ∼ 2.7 years of high frequency of extreme rainfall events is observed for all the regions whereas, a 12.2-, 15.3-, and 5.8-year cycles are observed for the WH, CH, and EH regions, respectively.

DNA barcoding of fishes from River Song, Dehradun, Uttarakhand using mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase-I gene

The entire Himalayan region is well known as a global hotspot for biodiversity. Many workers have documented different aspect of biodiversity. The Uttarakhand Himalaya region, a part of Himalayan system, is very rich in fresh water aquatic biodiversity because it has many fresh water streams and rivers within a short distance of 200 miles. All these fresh water bodies harbor diverse aquatic fauna with fishes being the most extensively studied. There are many fish species reported by many authors in Uttarakhand. Many of the fishes have similar morphological characters (morpho-metrics) and are difficult to identify. Attempts have been made to generate the DNA barcode of fishes but most of the attempt are limited to major rivers i.e. the Ganges and the Yamuna. Besides these two prominent river (the Ganges &amp; the Yamuna), there are many supporting streams and small tributaries that are also inhabited by many species. No “long term” and “entire river scan” for fish species has ever been conducted in Uttarakhand. Our research aims to generate a molecular database (DNA Barcode) for entire fish species fauna in each small river/stream of Uttarakhand. Using a combination of morphometric &amp; DNA bar-coding data will provide an efficient method for species level identification and contributes considerably to taxonomic and biodiversity research. The present study is first step towards establishing molecular taxonomy database of Uttarakhand based upon the bar coding pattern of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. We carried out an “entire river scan” of River Song (a tributary of river Ganges). 50 samples were collected from various sampling sites along the entire stretch of river and analyzed. Data was uploaded into the BOLD database and the analysis of data using this database suggests that the genetic variability (K2P distance) distribution of 50 individuals belonging with 15 species.The average intraspecific variation using K2P and NJ methods/models was assessed. The mean intraspecific distance was less than 1.45% for 32% of species. Mean K2P distance within species, genus and family was 0.1%, 16.3% and 21.70% respectively. Our results suggest that River Song has diverse fish fauna with substantial genetic diversity. Data from Barillius species suggests that this species has a very high variation. There is ahighly probability that as all the rivers are scanned new data on endemic and exotic fish fauna diversity will emerge which would be helpful in conservation efforts.

Proto-Tibeto-Burman Grain Crops

The Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages are spread over the entire Himalayan region, from Kashmir in the west, across northern South Asia, southwestern China and northern mainland Southeast Asia, in a wide variety of ecological zones from very high altitude to tropical. They include over 200 languages falling into four major subgroups (Western, Central, Sal, Eastern), with various additional smaller subgroups (Bradley 2002). Much ink has been spilled in the linguistic literature about the original homeland of the early Tibeto-Burman groups, but it is clear that this must have been somewhere south and west of the early Chinese civilization in the upper Yellow River valley. One frequent hypothesis is that the area of greatest genetic linguistic diversity within a language group is the point of origin; on this criterion, this would be in the mountains of northeastern India, southeastern Tibet and northern Burma, where the four major subgroups meet and there are some additional smaller subgroups as well. If this is so, we would expect highland grain crops indigenous to this area to have been the staple, if agriculture was present before the breakup of Proto-TB or Proto-Sino-Tibetan (ST). The TB languages with the longest literary history include Tibetan (7th C. AD), Burmese and Newari (both early 12th C. AD). Tibetan tradition lists six main crops including five grains plus beans. Burmese tradition has seven main grain crops. Sagart (1999) has hypothesized that the Sinitic groups had five major crops: three grains, Setaria italica millet, Panicum miliaceum millet and rice, plus beans, and later wheat, introduced about 4000 years BP. The location and date of rice domestication(s) is contested, as other speakers will certainly discuss. Even for grains first domesticated elsewhere, it is not unreasonable for there to have been Proto-TB etyma (cognate words) if they were introduced early enough. This paper will explore some of the etyma that we would expect to find among TB groups for the grain crops domesticated in the area, including rice, millets including Setaria, Panicum and Eleusine coracana as well as buckwheat, Job’s tears and older introduced crops such as sorghum, wheat and barley.

Assessment of tectonic activity in a seismically locked segment of Himachal Himalaya

Bilaspur (31° 23′ 586′′ N; 76° 45′ 178′′ E) lies in the south-west Himachal close to the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). Neotectonic studies carried out in this region have revealed that the area is traversed by several faults, many of which may be active. GPS studies carried out in the entire Himalayan region indicate crustal shortening leading to strain accumulation. This is manifest in enhanced tectonic activity in the form of major and minor earthquakes. However, there are certain areas where stress release has not been witnessed and these areas can fail in large magnitude earthquakes in the future. Bilaspur lies in the zone of strain accumulation. This zone is building up a slip deficit at the rate of 14 ± 1 mm year−1. In the light of these revelations and the fact that Bilaspur houses one of the biggest water reservoirs of the country an attempt has been made to assess the implications of these observations.

Landslide hazard zonation in Hanuman Chatti area of Uttarakhand, India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate landslide hazard problems in Hanuman Chatti area of Uttarakhand, India. Every year NH 58 experiences landslide activities, which disrupts the tourist traffic to Badrinath shrine and higher Himalaya.Design/methodology/approachAn urgent need is being felt to have a comprehensive landslide hazard evaluation factor (LHEF). The major causative factors that influence the slope stability are lithology, structure, soil depth, soil texture, geomorphology, slope morphology, slope dip, slope aspect, slope magnitude, weathering, land use and land cover and anthropogenic activities. The present analysis is based on the rating scheme in which numerical ratings for different categories are determined on the basis of their estimated significance in causing instability.FindingsIn the study area, nine old landslides (0.238 sq.km) and five new landslides (0.086 sq.km) are recorded. On the basis of the various causative factors the study area is classified into five landslide hazard classes.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is based on the experience gained for the last seven years (1999‐2007). The period is short for developing any hypothesis but sufficient care has been taken to consider vital factors.Practical implicationsWith the help of LHEF appropriate landslide hazard management tools can be adopted. Once a LHEF rating scheme in which numerical ratings for different categories are determined on the basis of their estimated significance in causing instability, is standardized it can be applied to the entire Himalayan region, which is very prone to landslide hazard.Originality/valueAlthough the paper is an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of landslide hazard zonation techniques developed by various agencies in the past, some modification as per the requirement has been made in various stages of investigation.

Extreme rainfall events and associated natural hazards in Alaknanda valley, Indian Himalayan region

Entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to rain-induced (torrential rainfall) hazards in the form of flash flood, cloudburst or glacial lake outburst flood.Flash floods and cloudburst are generally caused by high intensity rainfall followed by debris flow or landslide often resulting into blockade of river channels. The examples of some major disasters caused by torrential rainfall events in last fifty years are the flash floods of 1968 in Teesta valley, in 1993 and 2000 in Sutlej valley, in 1978 in Bhagirathi and in 1970 in Alaknanda river valleys. The formation of landslide dams and subsequent breaching is also associated with such rainfall events. These dams may persist for years or may burst within a short span of its formation. Due to sudden surge of water level in the river valleys, havoc and panic are created in the down stream. In Alaknanda valley, frequencies of such extreme rainfall events are found to be increasing in last two decades. However, the monthly trend of extreme rainfall events has partly indicated this increase. In most of the years extreme rainfall events and cloudburst disaster were reported inAugust during the later part of the monsoon season.

Epidemic of HIV Coupled With Hepatitis C Virus Among Injecting Drug Users of Himalayan West Bengal, Eastern India, Bordering Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh

A study was conducted in June 2004 to find out the epidemiology of HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) of Darjeeling District of West Bengal, eastern India. The district headquarter, Darjeeling town, also known as “Queen of Hills,” is a beautiful spot situated in Himalayan West Bengal that attracts a large number of tourists each year from all over the world. Another unique feature of the district is that it has international boundaries with three countries, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Siliguri, the part of the district on plains, acts as a transit station for these countries as well as to the entire Himalayan region of West Bengal and neighboring state, Sikkim. It is also a transit point to all northeastern states of India: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Two hundred twenty-eight study subjects (IDUs) were included in this community-based cross-sectional study from all four subdivisions of the district. Informed consent was obtained, and then personal interviews, followed by blood testing were performed using unlinked anonymous procedure. The study revealed that overall HIV seroprevalence among IDUs was 11.8% (n = 27; 95% confidence interval, 7.9–16.7), whereas seroprevalence of hepatitis C was found to be 47.7% (n = 97). Prevalence of HIV was higher in subjects from hill districts (13.5%) compared with subjects from the plains (9.2%). It also revealed that most IDUs (75.3%) used “brown sugar,” an impure form of heroin, as their major addictive substance followed by injection norphine. Sharing of injecting equipment was found to be as high as 67% among IDUs, and sharing of drugs from common ampules was found to be 35.5% of the studied subjects (n = 93). Most subjects (96%) were found to clean their injecting paraphernalia with plain water. Most IDUs (98%) were found to inject intravenously. About 52% of IDUs visited sex workers one or more times within the last 1 year, and 15% of the interviewed subjects (n = 93) reported to suffer from sexually transmitted diseases during the same period. All the IDUs knew about HIV/AIDS. About 69% of the subjects knew that apparently healthy looking person might have HIV infection. HIV was found to be associated significantly with age of the injectors and duration of injecting practices. The study revealed the epidemic of HIV and hepatitis C among IDU populations at this bordering district of West Bengal for the first time that requires urgent intervention at local, national, and international levels.

The direct observations of large aerosol radiative forcing in the Himalayan region

We show here that absorbing aerosols have led to a large reduction of surface solar radiation during winter over the Himalayan region. Our results are based on radiometric, aerosol and Lidar observations made at three sites in Nepal during winter 2003. The monthly mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) ranged from 0.2 to 0.34 and the TERRA satellite MODIS data reveal that AODs measured over these sites were typical of the entire Himalayan region. The near‐surface aerosol single scattering albedo was in the range from 0.7 to 0.9. The presence of strongly absorbing aerosols resulted in a relatively large diurnal mean aerosol surface radiative forcing efficiency of −73 Wm−2 (per unit optical depth). The seasonal mean reduction in solar flux was as high as 25 Wm−2 and aerosol heating as much as 1 K per day within the first two kilometers.