1 Uttarakhand has experienced one of the highest increases in temperature this decade

A report assessing impact of the climate crisis over the Indian region published by the ministry of earth sciences last year said the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region has experienced a temperature rise of about 1.3 degrees Celsius from 1951 to 2014. India, as a whole, warmed by only 0.7 degrees from 1901 to 2018, the report said. An analysis of grid-level temperature data set of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows that almost all of Uttarakhand – and Chamoli in particular – has experienced the highest increase in both minimum and maximum temperatures. According to the Uttarakhand Action Plan on Climate Change (UAPCC) 2014, these trends in temperature are likely to continue in the future. In the Himalayan region, thermal discomfort to individuals – measured by a temperature-humidity index – is likely to increase in the 2030s. It is likely that this trend in temperatures in Uttarakhand has increased the speed of glaciers melting in the region. Scientists also agree that glaciers in the Himalayas have been retreating faster since the beginning of this century, HT reported on February 8.

According to a report of the expert body constituted under the direction of the Supreme Court after the June 2013 Uttarakhand floods, receding glaciers leave behind unstable moraine (rock and sediment deposits left by a glacier at its extremities) dams. When such natural dams breach, they can discharge large volumes of water and debris suddenly, causing floods.