Himalaya: The stressed mountains | tagesschau.de

After the impact of a glacier in the Himalayas, the impact in the region is still profound. However, experts warn that such events could occur more frequently in the future, and not just due to climate change.

Five scientists fly over the Nanda Devi glacier by helicopter. They take photos and compare them with satellite images. At 5600 meters above sea level, on top of Raini Mountain, Indian scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology claim to have identified the cause of the catastrophic glacier collapse on January 7 in the Himalayas.

Sibylle light
ARD studio New Delhi

Scientists believe that a huge block of ice formed on a rock ledge, likely breaking apart and causing the flash flood. Workers at the hydroelectric plant on the Rishiganga River below the glacier remain missing. So far 34 dead have been recovered. They were surprised by the ice and glacier debris and were buried.

Unusually early ice loss

How did the accident happen? Kalachand Sain, director of the Wadia Institute for Himalayan Geology, cites climate change as one reason. Due to rising temperatures, glaciers lose their ice faster and faster in summer. In winter, however, this is extremely unusual. Eight glaciers are on the Rishiganga River. All of them have lost more than ten percent of their ice mass in less than 30 years.

The melting of glaciers causes water in glacial lakes to rise threateningly around the world or leads to the formation of new lakes. Because the rocky walls cannot withstand the pressure of water bodies, there will be more and more landslides, says Indian climate researcher Anjal Prakash. Of the 8,000 glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayan region, 200 have already been classified as dangerous.

Prakash is researching climate change and its effects on behalf of the Indian government and is referring to a large 2019 study on the Himalayan region. 350 researchers from 22 countries participated. The data showed that global warming is having a particularly large impact on the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region. “Even if we could keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, temperatures in the Hindu Kush region of the Himalayas would continue to rise 1.8 degrees Celsius and, in some places, even 2.2 degrees Celsius. By 2100 probably It will be two-thirds of the 53,000 glaciers in the Himalayan-Hindu Kush region that have melted, ”says the climate expert.

These glaciers are the water resources for approximately 1.3 billion people in Asia: “Nearly one in three South Asian people is supplied directly with water from the Hindu Kush-Himalayan glaciers,” says Prakash. Giant rivers feed on glaciers. They supply water to the most populous countries in the world.

The consequences of construction activity

Semrat Sengupta, Director of Climate Change and Renewable Energy at the New Delhi Center for Science and Environment, mentions another possible reason for the glacier collapse: “There is a huge amount of construction in the Himalayas, mostly without scientific support. Now the nature is fighting back. ” India ranks fifth in the world in terms of the number of hydroelectric power plants.

India, Bhutan and Nepal are planning or building 273 hydroelectric power plants in the high mountain region, and a quarter are in earthquake zones. “For these huge construction projects, the four-lane highways and tunnel systems are sinking into the rocks. All of this certainly has a link to seismic activity.” The Himalayan region is a geologically young and highly vulnerable mountain range, says climate researcher Prakash.

Wrong accent on climate plans?

Construction activity is also a consequence of India’s ambitious plans for renewable energy. The country remains the third largest producer of greenhouse gases, up to 55 percent of the energy generated comes from coal-fired power generation. That should change. Climate researcher Prakash, for his part, criticizes the construction of hydroelectric plants in the high mountains. “This energy production is extremely expensive compared to what you get,” he says.

Environmental activist Kundan Singh was one of the people who sued the Rishiganga power plant project. “Our town was threatened by landslides due to the blasting works,” he reports. “The workers cut down trees. The whole project didn’t even bring jobs to local residents.”

It is not the first misfortune

Indian scientists assume that the combination of global warming and the construction of power plants in the fragile high mountain landscape are the causes of the glacier break in Nanda Devi. There was already a glacial eruption in the region in 2013. Then thousands died. After the recent accident, more than 200 people are still missing.

The locals had long fought against the construction of power plants on the glacier, Prakash says: “They have a much greater understanding of the environment than those who build power plants in the high mountains of the Himalayas.”