Lok Sabha Question No. 2147 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-02
Subject: Melting of Himalayan Glaciers
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2147 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 2 ND  AUGUST, 2023

## MELTING OF HIMALAYAN GLACIERS

## 2147.   DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN: SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the  rate  of  retreat/melting  of  Himalayan  Glaciers  since  the  last  five  years,  year/Statewise;
- (b) the mass balance assessment of nine glaciers in the Himalayan region since the last five years;
- (c) whether the Ministry has commissioned any new research studies in the past five years to assess Indian glaciers; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) Several  Indian  institutes/universities/organizations  funded  by  the  Government  of  India through  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES),  Department  of  Science  &  Technology (DST), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Department of Space (DoS) - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ministry of Mines (MoM) and  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  (MoJS)  monitor  Himalayan  glaciers  for  various  scientific studies including glacier melting. State-wise details on retreat of the Himalayan glaciers are given in Annexure I.
- (b) The mass balance assessment of Himalayan glaciers since the last five years are provided in Annexure II.
- (c)&(d)   Yes  Sir,  The  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  through  National  Centre  for  Polar  and  Ocean Research (NCPOR) has  commissioned following new research  studies  in  the  past  five years to assess Indian glaciers:
- i. Started the Snow Cover Area (SCA) assessment over Chandra basin using satellite remote sensing data. Analysis of data between 2003 and 2018 reveal that the month of  March  (2008)  recorded  maximum  (99.99%)  snow  cover,  while  the  minimum (42.4%) snow cover was found in August (2014).
- ii. A nationally coordinated multi-institutional program named 'Himalayan Cryospheric Observation and Modeling (HiCOM)' was initiated in 2018.Under this program,  seven  scientific  projects  for  representative  and  crucial  basins/glaciers  in different sectors of Himalaya (Western, Central and Eastern sectors) were funded to several Indian universities and institutes.

State-wise Retreat of Himalayan Glaciers

|   S. No | Name of the State   | Name of the glacier   | Duration                     | Average Annual Retreat (m/year)   |
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Pensilungpa           | Little Ice Age (LIA) to 2019 | 5.60                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | DurungDurung          | 1971-2019                    | 12.0                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Parkachik             | 1971-2021                    | 4.21                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Sagtogpa              | 1973-2018                    | 7.4                               |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Sagtogpa East         | 1973-2018                    | 8.13                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Thara Kangri          | 1973-2018                    | +11.13 (Surged)                   |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Garam Pani            | 1973-2018                    | 4.96                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Rassa I               | 1973-2019                    | 8.13                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Rassa II              | 1973-2019                    | 2.63                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Arganglas Glacier     | 1973-2019                    | 18.86                             |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Phunangma             | 1973-2019                    | 11.65                             |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Panamik-I             | 1969-2021                    | 1.68                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Panamik-II            | 1969-2021                    | 4.09                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Saser-I               | 1980-2021                    | 3.25                              |
|       1 | Ladakh UT           | Saser-II              | 1980-2021                    | 2.85                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Takdung               | 1989-2017                    | 9.64                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Uldhampu              | 1989-2017                    | 4.66                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Menthosa              | 1965-2018                    | 4.32                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Gumba                 | 1971-2018                    | 10.38                             |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Gangpu                | 1989-2018                    | 2.79                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Trilokinath Glacier   | 1969-2021                    | 18.00                             |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Beas Kund Glacier     | 1964-2021                    | 15.00                             |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Glacier no. 20        | 1965-2021                    | 3.20                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Gepang Gath           | 2017-2022                    | ∼ 30                              |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Samudra Tapu          | 2017-2022                    | ∼ 10-15                           |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Batal and Kunzam      | 2017-2022                    | ∼ 5-10                            |
|       2 | Himachal Pradesh    | Sutri Dhaka           | 2017-2022                    | 11.00                             |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Mabang                | 1962-2017                    | 6.96                              |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Pyungru               | 1962-2017                    | 4.45                              |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Chipa                 | 2017-2019                    | 7.90                              |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Gangotri              | 2017-2022                    | 33.80                             |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Dokriani              | 2007-2013                    | 21.00                             |
|       3 | Uttarakhand         | Chorabari             | Since 2003                   | 11.00                             |
|       4 | Arunachal Pradesh   | Khangri               | 2017-2019                    | 6.50                              |

## Annexure-I

Annexure-II

The mass balance of glaciers in the Himalayan region since 2014-15.

|   S.No. | Name of Glacier      | State (Basin)              | Duration   |   Mass balance (meter water equivalent/year) |
|---------|----------------------|----------------------------|------------|----------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Kolahoi Glacier      | Jammu &Kashmir UT (Jhelum) | 2015-2019  |                                        -0.84 |
|       2 | Hoksar Glacier       | Jammu &Kashmir UT (Jhelum) | 2014-2018  |                                        -0.95 |
|       3 | Stok Glacier         | Ladakh UT(Indus)           | 2015-2019  |                                        -0.39 |
|       4 | Pensilungpa Glacier  | Ladakh UT(Suru)            | 2016-2022  |                                        -0.46 |
|       5 | ChottaShigri Glacier | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2019  |                                        -0.22 |
|       6 | Sutri Dhaka Glacier  | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2022  |                                        -0.72 |
|       7 | Batal Glacier        | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2014-2022  |                                        -0.41 |
|       8 | Samudra Tapu Glacier | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2022  |                                        -0.82 |
|       9 | Kunzam Glacier       | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2018  |                                        -0.3  |
|      10 | Bara Shigri Glacier  | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2019  |                                        -0.43 |
|      11 | Gepang Gath Glacier  | Himachal Pradesh (Chandra) | 2015-2022  |                                        -0.96 |
|      12 | Naradu Glacier       | Himachal Pradesh (Baspa)   | 2011-18    |                                        -0.85 |
|      13 | Chorabari Glacier    | Uttarakhand (Mandakini)    | 2016-2021  |                                        -0.77 |
|      14 | Dokriani Glacier     | Uttarakhand (Bhagirathi)   | 2013-2020  |                                        -0.37 |

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