HS News
Shimla, June 30
The issue of climate change is a matter of global concern, and mountain ecosystems are highly vulnerable to ultimate effects of climate change. Thus over 51 million of people living in the abode of mountain environment are bearing the brunt of the climate change.
This concern was expressed on Thursday during the one-day workshop organized by the State Climate Change Center, Shimla and Divecha Climate Change Center, IISc Bangalore held here for the policy makers and high officials of the administration on ‘climate change and mountain ecosystem’. Additional Chief Secretary Environment, Science and Technology Department, Himachal PradeshPrabodh Saxena expressed concern that mountains have a special role in deciphering the effects of climate change where 51 million people are living in the lap of Himalayan ecosystem are affected by the effects of climate change in agriculture and allied activities.
He said that the rapid development in the last several decades has adversely affected the environment and ecosystem of the Himalayan region. He said that work to fulfill the vision of the Center pivots around on Climate Change and to provide a healthy, stable and sustainable environment to our future generations. Himachal Pradesh government will definitely get benefitted from the recommendations of this workshop in the formulation of future plans and policies.
He said that the state will all work together in this direction to create a reliable scientific database to develop various adaptation and mitigation strategies for the changing climate in this Himalayan state.
Lalit Jain, Director, Department of Environmental Science, Technology, Himachal Pradesh and Member Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Council of Science, Technology and Environment, said in his address that today there will be hardly anyone in this world, who is untouched by climate change. Among affected areas, especially agriculture is having more impact, for which we need to make new policies, so that we can reduce the impact of climate change.
The keynote speaker Prof Anil Kulkarni, Distinguished Scientist, Divecha Kendra, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, said that the increase in temperature by 2.6 degree Celsius, would cause losses of 79 percent glaciers’ ice by the turn of century in Himachal Pradesh, and further the temperature would increase by 4.1 degree Celsius. If so, glaciers in Himachal Pradesh lose 87 percent of snow by the end of the century. Glacial runoff would increase in 2050 and then the phenomenon will start again.
Dr. R. Krishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (Maharashtra) and Dr. Lal Singh, Himalayan Research Group, Shimla also gave their views on the issues of climate change.
On this occasion Apoorva Devgan, Member Secretary Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, Shimla shared the views regarding Israel and mitigation efforts done there in effects of climate change. Dr. SSÂ Randhawa, Chief Scientific Officer, shared his views on the work done on Himalayan ice and glaciers.
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