Climate Change in Uttarakhand : Current State of Knowledge

Contents: 1. Forests of Uttarakhand and the changing climate. 2. Possible impacts of climate change on agriculture. 3. Status of Himalayan glaciers. Conclusions. References. From the preface: Mountains influence the livelihoods of nearly 40 per cent of people globally. While data on climate change impacts in mountains is sparse, what we have suggests that mountains are among the more vulnerable regions on the planet. As mountains are important providers of ecosystem services and home to wilderness refuges for lowland species in case of climate warming understanding the impact of climate change on these ecosystems is essential. The Himalayan region may be particularly sensitive to climate change. There are evidences to indicate that at least parts of the Himalaya are warming at a significantly higher rate than the global average. This is of great concern as (i) the region has more snow and ice than any other region in the world outside the Polar caps, (ii) the Himalaya directly influence climate in much of the South Asia (iii) the Himalayan glaciers are connected to 9 major river basins, including the Gangetic basin, which alone has about 500 million population.…