The Vast Scale of the Problem...

The greater Himalayan region in Asia covers approximately 7 million km². Any region as vast in size as this is bound to have a varied climate and the Himalayan region is no different (Xu et al. 2009). The diversity of the climate is clear when examining rates of precipitation. In the Takliman Desert there is under 50mm of precipitation per year; compared to the Charapunji region that receives 11,117mm a year in precipitation (Hofer and Messerli, 2006), both regions are located in the Himalayan region of Asia. Why does this matter? What relevance does this have to a changing climate and retreating environment? Such varied climate means that the region is home to a large number and diverse range of species that inhabit varied ecosystems. Whilst the ecosystems may differ from one another in all other aspects, one thing they do have in common is that they will be affected by a fluctuating climate. Many of these ecosystems will be directly impacted by changing glacial regimes and it is this aspect of climate change that this blog hopes to explore further (Parmesan, 2006).

Before the implications of climate change are touched upon, some of the facts about glaciers in the Himalayan region are required to provide a baseline. There is currently 116,180km² of glacial ice in the Himalayan and Inner Asian ranges, the largest amount outside of the Polar regions (Xu et al., 2009). Glacial melt makes a substantial contribution to total discharge of rivers, the exact amount ranges from 5% to over 45% for different rivers. Wilkes and Xu (2008) state that in Western China glacial meltwater accounts for the provision of 25% of water for the total Chinese population in the dry season. To take away a quarter of a country or areas water would have catastrophic impacts. Economies and individual livelihoods would both be impacted.

What will be the impact of climate change on river regimes in this region?

Quite an obvious question to answer, increased melting will cause increased discharge. The possibility of flooding will be elevated in the short term, which may appear to be a negative impact, however it is rare for a community to complain at receiving surplus levels of water at the opportunity cost of preparing for the excess. Unfortunately it is in the long term where the problem is likely to come to light. What happens when meltwater ceases to contribute to river discharge? The answer, on a simple level, the amount of water flowing in the rivers reduces significantly; over 45% in some rivers in the Himalayan region (Xu et al., 2009). This could induce panic; communities, families and individuals will have to change their lifestyles and adapt to new conditions. The reality of people not being prepared for the inevitable is a bit far fetched, people will have been warned of the future and are no doubt adapting their lifestyles even now to adjust. It is this adjustment that is what I want to explore in the blog, throw in some science and climate change along the way and hopefully your understanding of the subject will improve 10 fold.

My View


It is true that the sheer size of the Himalayan Region means that in the future people will have to change the way they live their lives. This post represents a more significant introduction and you should now realise why the changing climate and in particular glacial retreat is going to have such a strong bearing on the natural world.