Sikkim Himalayan glacial melting may lead to water availability reduction in future’

GANGTOK, December 1: The glaciers in Mount Khangchendzonga in Sikkim side have shown an estimated annual retreat of 4.15 m during two decades from 1986 to 2005 which could possibly led to some reduction of water availability in future.
This was stated by Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh in his reply to a question raised by Sikkim MP OT Lepcha in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.

“The studies conducted by the Geological Survey of India indicate that the Mt Khangchendzonga glacier in Sikkim is receding for last few decades. However, the rate of recession has been slower in recent times. The study also estimated an annual retreat of 4.15 m during 1986-2005”, said the minister.

The minister’s statements largely draws from a recent dossier prepared by his ministry which had explicitly stated that one cannot correlate the impact of global warming on the glaciers on the basis of these small time variations in Sikkim with glacier mass degeneration lowest in Sikkim among all the Himalayan States.
The MoEF paper which had been released by Ramesh on November 9 had stated that degradation of Himalayan glacial mass is the lowest in Sikkim adding that glacial retreat of Zemu glacier has come practically to a standstill in recent years.

Sikkim has around 84 glaciers covering a total of 691.5 square kms with a snowfield area of 251.22 square kms, official data chronicled through Remote Sensing system last year revealed.

Out these 84 glaciers, Zemu glacier the source of River Teesta is the largest and is located at North Sikkim and its size is around 90.94 sq kms.
However, the overall receding of glaciers in Sikkim could harbinger problems for the hydropower potential of the Himalayan State.

Ramesh admitted that melting of glaciers may increase the run-off the Himalayan rivers initially. But it may ultimately lead to some reduction of water availability in future, he said.

The possibility of water availability reduction in Sikkim should not augur well as thousands of crores have already been invested for tapping the projected 8000 MW hydro power capacity of the Himalayan State.

Out of the total hydropower potential of Sikkim of 8000 MW, the total installed capacity as on March 31 this year is only 610.7 MW. The State government has awarded 24 hydropower projects at a total estimated installed capacity of around 4,694 MW to various developers out of which, 2,081 MW is expected to be commissioned within the 11th Plan and remaining within the 12th Plan.

All the projects are run of the river schemes most of which are tributaries of River Teesta and River Rangit.

Regarding the Sikkim MP’s question on efforts made by the government for the conservation of glaciers, the minister replied that a national action plan on climate change was launched in June 2008 which envisages the national mission for sustaining the Himalayan eco-system amongst its 8 national missions.
The mission would understand inter-alia, the phenomena relating to the recession of

Himalayan glaciers and the ways of addressing the problem, said Ramesh. He further informed that a new research centre on Himalayan Glaciology has been established at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun.

Guidelines and best practices for governance for sustaining Himalayan eco-system has been developed and shared with all State governments in the Himalayan region, said the minister.
source: sikkim express