Climate change impact on glacier melting in Himalayas

Glaciers, being an integral part of the Earth's natural system, serve as the most reliable and sensitive indicators of climate change. Besides, they constitute a significant component of the hydrological regime. It is estimated that over 10,000 glaciers are receding at a rate of 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 metres) per decade in the Indian Himalayas. In fact the melting is twice as fast since the year 2000 as they were 25 years before, due to human induced climate change. And it is projected that two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers will vanish by the end of this century if the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions continue. Tracers like Deuterium, Tritium, Oxygen-18 of water molecule and other dissolved isotopes have potential applications in climate studies including glacier dynamics, for isotopes being part and parcel of water molecules can trace the movement of large water masses more accurately. For the first time, d¹⁷O isotope has been used in the Indian context to infer the influence of local moisture recycling at the continental site. These studies of DAE-BRNS provide new evidence that improves the current understanding of the forcing factor behind glacier advances and retreat in the Western Himalayas