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Category: Environment

  • Charan Sekhon among Queen’s New Year Honours list

    Charan Sekhon among Queen’s New Year Honours list

    Charan Sekhon from Bedford, UK’s first Senior Sikh Officer of the Environment Agency among Queen’s New Year’s Honours Award Recipients, reports Asian Lite News

    Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, a Senior Environment Officer for the Environment Agency (UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs – DEFRA) is named in the Honours list to receive an MBE. Charan is the Founder Chairman of charity SEVA Trust UK, Equalities and Welfare Coordinator for UNISON East Anglia Branch,  a local Councilor and a former executive committee member of Bedford Race Equality Council and Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Bedford.

    Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an MBE, is a national honour awarded for an outstanding achievement or service to the community which has had a long-term, significant impact.

    Charan becomes UK’s first British Sikh officer of Indian origin serving for the Environment Agency to receive this honour. As per details released by the UK Government Cabinet Office, Charan received this recognition for his services and contributions in four key areas; Charity, Diversity, the Environment and the COVID-19 support work.

    Earlier this year, Charan was commended for his environmental work and supporting his work colleagues at the Environment Agency and through Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network and UNIOSN by raising equality and diversity awareness, the impacts of Covid19 on BAME communities, supporting H&S and staff welfare and the Environment Agency’s recruitment campaigns to attract diverse workforce.

    Outside his day job, Charan is involved in a wide range of voluntary work. He has been supporting and coordinating various projects through SEVA Trust UK which is a registered charity working in the UK and India on Education, Health, Social-Welfare and the Environment. Since March 2020, Charan lead a team of volunteers working in Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire where hundreds of vulnerable families, homeless, rough-sleepers and international students were provided with food and other essential items since Corona pandemic stated. Previously Charan played an important role in establishing a new Sikh Temple in Kempston, Bedford where he served as an Assistant Secretary for over 15 years. Charan and his team has supported over 500 disadvantaged children in north India in the last 6 years.

    Charan said, “I am very surprised and feel incredibly humbled to hear this news. I am honoured to receive this recognition. It is also a reflection on the collective team effort and enormous support and guidance I received from my colleagues at the Environment Agency, UNISON and our fantastic team of volunteers who work with us that makes SEVA Trust UK, a community charity we launched six years ago.”

    “During the COVID19 challenging times, we managed to help a lot of vulnerable work colleagues and diverse communities who faced hardships. It has been a true partnership and collaborative work with all those who want to help and uplift others and I would like to thank everyone for their amazing support. I must thank my entire family. Words cannot express my sincere appreciation for their great support and love and above all the guidance by my parents, who taught me a true meaning of life,” said Charan. 

    Charan is currently serving as a local councillor in Sharnbrook (Bedfordshire) and previously he served as Kempston Town Councillor giving 20 years’ service as an elected local councillor. He is a very active volunteer and charity worker for over 25 years who lead a wide range of community support projects through-out the COVID19 pandemic and the national lockdowns. Charan’s charitable work and contributions have been widely recognised by many local and national organisations including Bedford Borough Council, Papwoth Trust, Cambridge, The Sikh Missionary Society, UK, Patanjali Yog Peeth Trust, UK and Bedfordshire Asian Business Association (BABA). In Dec. 2020, he received Sports Award from Bedford Borough Council for supporting diverse communities with free online yoga classes. In 2013 Charan was honoured with’ British Asian Pride of Britain Award in an event held at the House of Commons in the UK Parliament and in 2002 he received Bedford Mayor’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ Award for his charitable work and community services.

    Born and Bred in a small village of Barundi of Punjab in India, Charan faced many challenges during his educational carrier in India and in the UK. He completed his BSc. and MSc. in Physics from India and moved to Britain in Jan. 1995. He then completed his MSc in Energy and Environment from Cranfield University, Bedfordshire before joining the Environment Agency in Jan 2000. In a recent interview with Cranfield University alumni podcast channel’s program of ‘Leadership on-the-go’ Charan explained why he passionately believes in equality and social justice, education opportunities for all and environmental sustainability. He said he wanted to use his experiences of struggle and hardships to help others in line with the concept of Seva (selfless service) gifted by the founder of Sikh faith Guru Nanak. He believes there is no better reward than serving the country by supporting people who face hardships and wants everyone to work in unity to serve others. He further added that he got an superb support from the local community here is the UK and India  and he wanted to give something back which prompted him to set up SEVA Trust UK to work in UK and India.

    Link to Charan’s interview:

    https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/alumni/communications/alumni-leadership-on-the-go-podcast

    James Chrisp, Communications Officer for Environment Agency’s East Anglia UNION branch said “Our branch has been supporting SEVA Trust for their educational and environmental projects and it was really good to see they reacted fast to set up local support projects in response to COVID19 situation. Charan has worked very hard and thoroughly deserved this recognition. Last year Charan was honored by the Environment Agency with a ‘Loyalty Commendation Award’ for his 20 years contributions in protecting and improving the environment. He was the first senior Sikh officer of Indian origin to achieve this milestone in East Anglia. He was selected for ‘Lockdown Hero’ award by Area Director Simon Hawkins and the management team for his exceptional COVID19 support work. In 2019, Charan was awarded ‘Diversity Champion Runner-up Award’ by the Chair of Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd.Outside his day job,Charan’s excellent support work has been acknowledged by many organisations. On behalf of our Environment Agency UNISON Branch, I would like to congratulate Charan for this well-deserved honour, said James.  

    ALSO READ-Environment Agency Honours Charan Sekhon

  • Adapt now, or suffer later

    Adapt now, or suffer later

    Noting nearly half the world’s population was already vulnerable to increasingly dangerous climate impacts, the United Nations climate science report called for drastic action on a huge scale, reports Asian Lite News

    Climate change is upon us and humanity is far from ready, the United Nations climate science panel warned in a major report on Monday.

    Noting nearly half the world’s population was already vulnerable to increasingly dangerous climate impacts, the report called for drastic action on a huge scale.

    Climate change is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer and way more dangerous by 2040 with an “unavoidable” increase in risks, and there remained only “a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”, said the report.

    The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) study on Monday said if human-caused global warming was not limited to just another couple tenths of a degree, an Earth now struck regularly by deadly heat, fires, floods and drought in future decades will degrade in 127 ways – with some being “potentially irreversible”.

    It pressed governments to quickly cut heat-trapping carbon emissions.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

    “Adaptation saves lives,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said with the report’s release. “As climate impacts worsen – and they will – scaling up investments will be essential for survival… The delay means death.”

    3.3 billion affected

    The 3,675-page report is the latest in a series by the IPCC detailing the global consensus on climate science. This report, however, focused on how nature and societies are being affected and what they can do to adapt.

    Children today who may still be alive in the year 2100 are going to experience four times more climate extremes than they do now even with only a few more tenths of a degree of warming over today’s heat.

    But if temperatures increase nearly two more degrees Celsius from now (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit), they would feel five times the floods, storms, drought and heatwaves, according to the collection of scientists at the IPCC.

    Already, at least 3.3 billion people’s daily lives “are highly vulnerable to climate change” and 15 times more likely to die from extreme weather, the report said.

    What does it mean for India?

    Globally human-induced heat and humidity will create conditions beyond human tolerance if emissions are not rapidly eliminated. India is among the places that will experience these intolerable conditions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body, said on Monday.

    The landmark report refers to wet-bulb temperatures, a measure that combines heat and humidity. A wet-bulb temperature of 31 degrees Celsius is extremely dangerous for humans, while a value of 35 degrees is unsurvivable for more than about six hours, even for fit and healthy adults resting in the shade.

    Even below these levels the heat can be deadly, especially for old or young people or those doing hard physical work.

    Currently, wet-bulb temperatures in India rarely exceed 31 degrees, with most of the country experiencing maximum wet-bulb temperatures of 25-30 degrees, according to a study cited by the UN body in its report that is the summary for policymakers of the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.

    The Working Group II report is titled “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”.

    It notes that if emissions are cut, but only by the levels currently promised, many parts of northern and coastal India would reach extremely dangerous wet-bulb temperatures of over 31 degrees towards the end of the century; if emissions continue to rise, wet-bulb temperatures will approach or exceed the unsurvivable limit of 35 degrees over much of India, with the majority of the country reaching wet-bulb temperatures of 31 degrees or more.

    The study also mentions that under RCP8.5 (high emissions scenario), at the end of the century, Lucknow and Patna are among the cities predicted to reach wet-bulb temperatures of 35 degrees if emissions continue to rise, while Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Mumbai, Indore and Ahmedabad are all identified as at risk of reaching wet-bulb temperatures of 32-34 degrees with continued emissions.

    Overall, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab will be the most severely affected, but if emissions continue to increase, all Indian states will have regions that experience wet-bulb 30 degrees or more by the end of the century.

    In South Asia particularly, intense heat waves of longer duration and higher frequency are projected with medium confidence over India.

    At the city-level, these projections could translate into significant impacts: at 1.5 degrees, on average, Kolkata will experience heat equivalent to the 2015 record heat waves every year and under two degrees warming, it could expect such heat annually.

    Critically, the impact of extreme heat is experienced disproportionately within cities with the poorest populations and those with lower access to green spaces are affected the most.

    The sea-level rise will threaten people, land use patterns and infrastructure in India.

    The global sea levels will likely rise 44cm-76cm this century if governments meet their current emission-cutting pledges. With faster emission cuts, the increase could be limited to 28cm-55cm. But with higher emissions, and if ice sheets collapse more quickly than expected, sea levels could rise as much as two metres this century.

    As sea levels rise, more land will be submerged, flooded regularly, eroded, or become unsuitable for agriculture due to saltwater intrusion.

    India is one of the most vulnerable countries globally in terms of the population that will be affected by sea-level rise.

    By the middle of the century, around 35 million people in India could face annual coastal flooding, with 45-50 million at risk by the end of the century if emissions are high — with far fewer at risk if emissions are lower, according to a study cited by the IPCC report.

    The economic costs of sea-level rise and river flooding for India would also be among the highest in the world. Direct damage is estimated at between $24 billion if emissions are cut only about as rapidly as currently promised, and $36 billion, if emissions are high and ice sheets are unstable, according to another study cited by the report.

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  • Forest management by the people, for the people

    Forest management by the people, for the people

    During this period, people arrange grass and fodder for their cattle from within the village itself. Some villagers are also deployed to patrol the forest and to catch intruders….reports Varsha Singh

    “The forests are very useful for the people living in the mountains. These forests cater to their basic needs such as clean water, pure air, cooking fuel, farming, fodder etc. Wherever the forests are meeting the basic needs of the people, the forests are healthy,” says Mallika Virdi. She is the sarpanch of the Van Panchayat of Sarmoli village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. And her Van Panchayat is counted among the finest in the mountain state.

    Van Panchayat refers to a locally-elected institution that plans and organises activities to manage community forests in a sustainable manner.

    In Virdi’s village, for instance, the community members clear bushes, remove weeds and prune dry branches to “get good-quality grass”. “If we leave the forest (unattended), then the shrubs will grow as tall as trees. The management of forests is, therefore, necessary,” she explains.

    Out of the total area of 51,125 sq.km in Uttarakhand, about 71.05 per cent of the land is covered in forests. Of this, 13.41 per cent forest area comes under the management of the Van Panchayats and there are 12,167 of these all over the state, the 2020-21 Uttarakhand Economic Survey says.

    Community knows best

    The Van Panchayats of Uttarakhand are known for managing community forests efficiently. Each Van Panchayat makes its own rules to use, manage and protect the local forest. These rules range from selecting forest guards to penalising defaulters. In Virdi’s village of Sarmoli, the penalty fee can go from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000.

    “Van Panchayats do all the work related to environmental protection such as the revival of water sources, water conservation, protection of forests from fires, and plantation,” says Puran Singh Rawal, who is the sarpanch of Adauli Van Panchayat in Bageshwar district.

    Rawal gives an insight into how his people fight forest fires. One, they routinely collect the fallen leaves and dried bushes and keep them aside. This is to ensure that the fire doesn’t spread from the ground up. Two, they have identified the water sources they can rush to, in case there’s a fire.

    Van Panchayats mostly operate independently of each other, but instances of collaboration are not uncommon. Take the case of Sarmoli. Since the villagers don’t get enough grass from their own forest during the winter, they visit the forest in the adjacent village of Shankhadhura to meet their needs.

    On certain terms and conditions though. One, Shankhadhura Van Panchayat opens up its forest to outsiders only when it has a surplus of grass. Two, the outsiders have to buy a pass for Rs 150 from Shankhadhura Van Panchayat to enter their forest. Three, only one person per household is given entry.

    These Van Panchayats also ensure that the forest resources aren’t overused. All movement of villagers and their cattle in the monsoon, from June to September, is stopped. During this period, people arrange grass and fodder for their cattle from within the village itself. Some villagers are also deployed to patrol the forest and to catch intruders.

    Virdi explains why this is done: “(As a result of the ban on forest use) a good amount of grass grows in the forests by October and November. The Van Panchayat then distributes the grass to the villagers as per their requirement. This grass is used as fodder all through the winter season.”

    Fight to stay free

    The Van Panchayats won their right to manage traditionally-held forests after a sustained campaign against colonial rule. Tarun Joshi, President of the Van Panchayat Sangharsh Morcha, says that the British had declared these forests as the property of the state and banned the movement of people into the forest. The people of Uttarakhand (then a part of the United Provinces) opposed the move, the British authorities were forced to form the Forest Grievances Committee to address their concerns. It was on the advice of this committee that the institution of Van Panchayat was created under Section 28 (2) of the Indian Forest Act, in 1927.

    The working of Van Panchayats was disrupted in the year 1997 when the Indian government introduced the concept of Joint Forest Management or JFM. This model required both the forest departments and local communities to work together to manage and protect forests. It was met with protests by Van Panchayats across Uttarakhand, as they were opposed to the idea of the forest department ‘meddling’ in their affairs. The Forest department officials were given economic and administrative rights in the Van Panchayats, which the Panchayats did not approve of.

    As a result, the JFM system was discontinued from the state in 2003 and the Van Panchayat rules were reinstated, informs Joshi. However, the Van Panchayats are still not completely free of either the forest department or the revenue department. The sarpanches complain of increasing interference by the forest officials. Retired officials from the forest department are being inducted into the Van Panchayats against the wishes of the locals.

    The revenue department is responsible for conducting elections for a Van Panchayat every five years. They also step in to resolve disputes related to encroachments.

    On the part of the forest department, they assign a guard for every community forest managed by the Van Panchayat. They also sanction budgets for the Van Panchayats to execute various projects like the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning (CAMPA) scheme, or the Japan Interactive Corporation Agency (JICA) funded scheme. These may include afforestation, forest protection, water conservation and soil rejuvenation.

    “We are working to increase the livelihood sources of these Van Panchayats through projects such as JICA. So far, 700 Van Panchayats are executing projects under JICA,” says Neena Grewal, who is the chief conservator of forests under the forest panchayat and community forestry department.

    A budget of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 is issued to the Van Panchayats for a period of three to four months, informs Rawal. According to the Forest Department Rules 2012, the department is supposed to draft a ‘micro-plan’ for the Van Panchayats every five years and sanction the budget for the same. However, a majority of the Van Panchayats haven’t yet received the funds to execute these projects, which they wanted to take up to supplement their income.

    The Van Panchayats’ own sources of income stem from the money they make by auctioning the pine, grass or rhododendron gathered from the forests, or from the sale of juices, jams, pickles and other processed products made by self-help groups.

    However, they have to seek permission from the forest department to use this income, even if it is for smaller interventions such as making a pond. Such interference remains a sore point in the otherwise efficient model of the Van Panchayat in Uttarakhand, say these leaders.

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  • Mukesh Ambani: Climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth

    Mukesh Ambani: Climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth

    The climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth, and the entire world must overcome this crisis with the highest level of cooperation and partnership, he said…reports Asian Lite News

    India will lead this transition from fossil fuels to Green and Clean Energy and become a major resource of Solar and Hydrogen Energy in the coming decades, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said.

    “It’s an opportunity worth seizing as we march from the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence to its Centenary in 2047,” Ambani said during a conversation with R.A. Mashelkar, President, Pune International Centre, as part of the Asia Economic Dialogue 2022.

    The climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth, and the entire world must overcome this crisis with the highest level of cooperation and partnership, he said.

    The world must make a rapid transition from old energy to new energy, which is necessary for mankind’s larger transition from an industrial revolution to an ecological or earth friendly revolution, Ambani said.

    “Our young and super-talented entrepreneurs will make India a Green Energy Superpower in the next 20 years, in the same that India became an IT Superpower in the last 20 years.”

    Reliance is deeply committed to playing the leading role in creating India’s Green Economy with large-scale generation of green employment opportunities, he added.

    Ambani said for the next 2-3 decades, India’s dependence on coal and imported oil will continue.

    “But, we must have a plan to eliminate that in the next 2-3 decades. Hence, in the near and medium term, we will have to follow low -carbon, and bo-carbon strategies of development.

    “I believe that India will be among the fastest growing large economy and our energy needs are going to double in next couple of decades.

    “India will overtake the European Union as the world’s third-largest economy. In my view, by sometime around 2030-2032.

    “I foresee at least 20-30 new Indian companies in the energy and tech space which will grow as big as Reliance, if not bigger, in the next 10-20 years,” Ambani added.

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  • IEA reveals methane emissions 70% higher than official data

    IEA reveals methane emissions 70% higher than official data

    Methane dissipates faster than carbon dioxide (CO2) but is a much more powerful greenhouse gas during its short lifespan, meaning that cutting methane emissions would have a rapid effect on limiting global warming….reports Asian Lite News

    Global methane emissions from the energy sector are about 70 per cent greater than the amount national governments have officially reported, said a new IEA analysis on Wednesday, underlining the urgent need for enhanced monitoring efforts and stronger policy action to drive down emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.

    Methane is responsible for around 30 per cent of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution and quick and sustained emission reductions are key to limiting near-term warming and improving air quality.

    Methane dissipates faster than carbon dioxide (CO2) but is a much more powerful greenhouse gas during its short lifespan, meaning that cutting methane emissions would have a rapid effect on limiting global warming.

    The energy sector accounts for around 40 per cent of methane emissions from human activity, and this year’s expanded edition of the IEA’s Global Methane Tracker includes country-by-country emissions from coal mines and bioenergy for the first time, in addition to continued detailed coverage of oil and natural gas operations.

    Methane emissions from the energy sector grew by just under five per cent last year. This did not bring them back to their 2019 levels and slightly lagged the rise in overall energy use, indicating that some efforts to limit emissions may already be paying off.

    “At today’s elevated natural gas prices, nearly all of the methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide could be avoided at no net cost,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

    “The International Energy Agency has been a longstanding champion of stronger action to cut methane emissions. A vital part of those efforts is transparency on the size and location of the emissions, which is why the massive underreporting revealed by our Global Methane Tracker is so alarming.”

    Last year, significant emissions were confirmed in Texas and parts of Central Asia, with Turkmenistan alone responsible for one-third of large emissions events seen by satellites in 2021.

    Relatively few major leaks were detected for the major onshore oil and gas producers in the Middle East.

    Satellites have greatly increased the world’s knowledge of emission sources, and the IEA Global Methane Tracker incorporates the latest readings from satellites and other science-based measurement campaigns. While measured data continues to improve, the coverage provided by satellites is still far from complete: existing satellites do not provide measurements over equatorial regions, offshore operations, or northern areas such as the main Russian oil and gas producing areas.

    Yet uncertainty over emissions levels is no reason to delay action on methane. Major reductions can be achieved with known technologies and with tried and tested policies that have been proven to work effectively.

    The Global Methane Tracker includes a new detailed policy explorer that provides examples of effective implementation and shows where these policies could be most impactful.

    Carbon emission(Pixabay)

    If all methane leaks from fossil fuel operations in 2021 had been captured and sold, then natural gas markets would have been supplied with an additional 180 billion cubic metres of natural gas. That is equivalent to all the gas used in Europe’s power sector and more than enough to ease today’s market tightness.

    The intensity of methane emissions from fossil fuel operations range widely from country to country: the best performing countries and companies are over 100 times better than the worst.

    Global methane emissions from oil and gas operations would fall by more than 90 per cent if all producing countries matched Norway’s emissions intensity, the lowest worldwide.

    The Global Methane Pledge, launched in November by more than 110 countries at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, marked an important step forward.

    Led by the European Union and the US, its participants agreed to reduce methane emissions from human activities — including agriculture, the energy sector and other sources — by 30 per cent by 2030. However, more major emitters need to join.

    Of the five countries with the largest methane emissions from their energy sectors — China, Russia, the US, Iran and India — only the US is part of the Pledge as things stand.

    “The Global Methane Pledge must become a landmark moment in the world’s efforts to drive down emissions,” said Birol. “Cutting global methane emissions from human activities by 30 per cent by the end of this decade would have the same effect on global warming by 2050 as shifting the entire transport sector to net zero CO2 emissions.”

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  • Himalayan meltdown an alarm for humanity

    Himalayan meltdown an alarm for humanity

    As many as 10 major rivers of the Indian sub-continent originate from the Himalayas and India’s 45 per cent population is directly or indirectly dependent on Himalayas….reports Asian Lite News

    Two recent studies have thrown more light on the condition of the glaciers across Himalayas and also those from the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. Although the thinning, melting, and receding of glaciers have been known for quite some time now, every new study comes as an alarm for humanity.

    In their latest published study, a bunch of researchers have studied the Pangong Tso region of Ladakh and ascertained the area changes and frontal retreat of 87 glaciers between 1990 and 2019 using satellite data. Besides, the glacier outlines were delineated manually and compared with existing regional and global glacier inventories that are available over the region.

    This analysis indicated deglaciation of 6.7 per cent from 1990 to 2019 over the Pangong Region with clean-ice glaciers showing a higher retreat of 8.4 per cent compared to the debris-covered glaciers’ 5.7 per cent. However, the overall recession is lower compared to other parts of north-western Himalayas, the study published in the study titled ‘Spatiotemporal dynamics and geodetic of glaciers with varying debris cover in the Pangong region of Trans-Himalayan Ladakh India between 1990 and 2019’, published in Frontiers in Earth Science journal in December 2021, said.

    From 2000 to 2012, the glaciers lost an ice mass amounting to 0.33 to 0.05 metre water equivalent (m we) per year. The only thing is that the mean glacier elevation did not indicate any influence on glacier recession.

    Unlike this, another study published last week found out that glaciers on Mount Everest such as South Col Glacier, which is located at the highest point in the world, have been thinning at an alarming rate, with estimated thinning rates of nearly two metre per year.

    The study published in the Nature Portfolio journal ‘Climate and Atmospheric Research’, as reported by IANS, addresses a key question from the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition on whether glaciers at the highest point on earth are experiencing the impacts of climate change. And the Mount Everest region has indeed been losing ice significantly since the late 1990s, it was revealed.

    So do we know everything about Himalayan glaciers?

    It has been known for quite some time that the Himalayan glaciers are showing recession due to multiple reasons, including climate change. Even the government is aware of and maintains data regarding melting of Himalayan glaciers.

    It is also known that the glaciers in eastern, central, and western parts of the Himalayas are reacting differently to different causes such as climatic conditions, topography, and geological influences. The Western part also includes the Karakoram ranges and the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, which is supposed to be relatively stable compared to the rapidly changing eastern or central parts.

    The Himalayas are called the third pole as it is the repository of the highest volume of ice outside the two poles. As many as 10 major rivers of the Indian sub-continent originate from the Himalayas and India’s 45 per cent population is directly or indirectly dependent on Himalayas.

    Melting glaciers have significant impact on water resources of Himalayan rivers due to change in glacier basin hydrology, downstream water budget, impact on hydropower plants due to variation in discharge, flash flood and sedimentation. They also increase in risk related to glacier hazards due to enhanced number and volume of glacier lakes, accelerated flash flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), impact on agro practices in high Himalayan region etc.

    Multiple government agencies have been studying the glaciers albeit the effort is far too less given the vast number of glaciers – 10-15,000 known large glaciers and numerous smaller ones – spread across the Himalayas with most of them difficult to reach.

    In the just concluded Budget Session of the Parliament, Lok Sabha member Dushyant Singh had asked if the government is aware of the study conducted by the University of Leeds, regarding the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers, published in journal Nature Scientific Reports in 2021.

    The government agreed that it was aware of it and pointed out the difference between the findings of the multiple studies. The University of Leeds, the Minister for Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh answered, had reconstructed the size and ice surfaces of 14,798 Himalayan glaciers during the Little Ice Age, which was 400-700 years ago.

    The study concludes that the Himalayan glaciers have lost ice 10 times more quickly over the last few decades than on average since the last major glacier expansion. In the last 400 to 700 years, the glaciers have lost around 40 per cent area – shrinking from 28,000 sq kms to around 19,600 sq km.

    The Minister also listed the various Indian institutes/universities/organisations such as Geological Survey of India, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, the National Institute of Hydrology, the Space Application Centre, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) etc. that monitor Himalayan glaciers for various scientific studies including glacier melting.

    The NCPOR has utilised Rs 11.88 crore during the last five years for Himalayan Glacier research. Rs 15.44 crore has been utilised by DST and Rs 1.1 crore by GSI during the last five years, he said.

    These studies have reported accelerated heterogeneous mass loss in Himalayan glaciers. The mean retreat rate of Himalayan glaciers is in the range of 14.9 to 15.1 metre/annum (m/a); which varies from 12.7 to 13.2 m/a in Indus, 15.5 to 14.4 m/a in Ganga and 20.2 to 19.7 m/a in Brahmaputra river basins. However, glaciers in the Karakoram region have shown comparatively minor length change (from minus 1.37 to 22.8 m/a), indicating the stable condition.

    The Ministry of Earth Sciences, through its autonomous institute NCPOR, is monitoring six glaciers in the Chandra basin (2,437 sq km area) in western Himalaya since 2013. The rate of annual mass balance (melting) ranging from minus 0.3 to 0.06 metre water equivalent per year (m w.e.y-1) to minus 1.13 to 0.22 m w.e.y-1 during 2013-2020. Similarly, a mean thinning of approx 50 metres with a mean annual mass loss of minus 1.09 to 0.32 m w.e. y-1 was observed for the Baspa basin during 2000-2011.

    The GSI has taken up a project on melting of glaciers in Beas Basin, South Chenab basin and Chandra Basin in Himachal Pradesh, Shyok and Nubra basin in Ladakh during Field Season 2021-22.

    The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has supported various R&D projects for studying Himalayan Glaciers under the National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem, and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.

    The mass balance studies conducted for some Himalayan glaciers by University of Kashmir, the Sikkim University, the IISc and the WIHG, revealed that the majority of Himalayan glaciers are melting or retreating at varying rates.

    WIHG is monitoring a few glaciers in Uttarakhand, which reveal that the Dokriani Glacier in the Bhagirathi basin is retreating at 15-20 m/a since 1995, whereas Chorabari Glacier in the Mandakini basin is retreating at 9-11 m/a during 2003-2017. WIHG is also monitoring Durung-Drung and Pensilungpa glaciers in Suru basin, Ladakh, which are retreating at 12 m/a, and approximately 5.6 m/a, respectively.

    The NIH has been conducting several studies for the assessment of runoff from melting of glaciers at catchment and basin scales across Himalayas. “The recent publication suggests that at regional scale, mass loss rate varies between minus 0.41 to 0.11 m.w.e.y-1 in the eastern; minus 0.58 to 0.01 m.w.e.y-1 in the central; minus 0.55 to 0.37 m.w.e.y-1 in the western Himalaya and minus 0.10 to 0.07 m.w.e.y-1 in Karakoram region in the last decade, the Lok Sabha was told.

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  • Countless trees thrive in the protected green memorials of Punjab

    Countless trees thrive in the protected green memorials of Punjab

    These madhis are peppered across the Malwa region that includes Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Moga, Muktsar, Patiala, Sangrur and Fazilka….writes Amarpal Singh Verma

    You see them peppered across villages in Punjab, often standing conspicuous amongst the farmlands, an oasis of stone and wood and green trees. Some madhis are small, sitting in secret nooks, known only to the people who worship them. They have all been created to honour the memories of ancestors, installed in the fields to remember those family members who died without a progeny.

    These brick structures, big or small, are always accompanied by at least one tree – a reflection of how some traditions are rooted in the environment, claimed Teja Singh Taggad, a retired government school teacher from Burj village in Bathinda.

    “The madhis are always protected by the shadow of a tree,” he said, adding: “At some places, you will find three or more trees over one madhi.”

    These madhis are peppered across the Malwa region that includes Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Moga, Muktsar, Patiala, Sangrur and Fazilka.

    They are mostly accompanied by the Indian Jujube tree, also known as Ber in Hindi. But, there are many places where Shisham, Peepal, banyan and neem trees have also matured, providing a safe haven to birds and critters.

    “The tradition of making a madhi in the memory of ancestors is centuries old,” Amritpal Singh Taggad, the principal of Bhakt Namdev High School in Maur Mandi said.

    In Burj, where he lives, each of the 300 households in the village has a madhi.

    “But, many consider the building of madhis to be a superstition. They fail to realise that these madhis have benefitted the environment by raising thousands of trees,” he said.

    Protected by faith

    Cutting a tree that shrouds a madhi is considered sacrilege.

    Nikka Singh Purba, a resident of Chak Janisar village in Ferozepur district, said: “We have never seen or heard of a tree on a madhi being hacked.”

    Satinder Singh Brar, a farmer from Bajidpur Bhoma village of Fazilka district, said that people respect the trees that grow around a madhi. “People may cut trees around it, but the trees on the madhis face no such danger. No one can even think of cutting down the trees here due to fear of bad luck,” he said.

    Such is the reverence for a tree on the madhi that even when it dies or is uprooted following a cantankerous storm, the wood is not taken away for personal use.

    “It is given to a needy person or donated to a gurdwara,” said Amritpal Kular, a farmer from Sangaria town that borders Rajasthan. “Then, either a new tree is planted over the madhi or the madhi itself is relocated under another tree.”

    The fruits from the trees on the madhis are never plucked. “Whenever they fall on the ground, they are taken for prasad,” he added.

    On the 14th of every month, one member of the household pays the customary obeisance to their madhi. They mix milk with water and sprinkle it around the memorial, a ritual called Lassi Dalna’.

    Some memorials are so old that families do not know who they belong to. Yet, the madhis continue to remain an important part of their lives, revered during special occasions and festivals.

    Be it weddings, Teej or the birth of a child, people seek blessing at the madhis. On Holi and Deepawali, the madhis take on a festive look. Lamps are lit all around them and they are painted and decorated in the spirit of the festival.

    Traditions crossing boundaries

    Decades ago, when water from Punjab’s canals made inroads into Rajasthan, thousands of Sikh families came to Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts in the state in search of agricultural prospects. They eventually bought land around the canal and settled down. With them, they also brought the tradition of madhis.

    A few madhis are also seen in Haryana. Some people, who live abroad, take the soil from the madhi with them.

    Former deputy sarpanch of Malarampura village in Hanumangarh district Manjit Singh said that his family arrived here from Dabdi Khana in Punjab. Singh, who does traditional farming, said he did not forget his tradition and made madhis in his land. “A madhi is a center of reverence for us,” he said.

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  • ‘Gap between support, aspiration to combat climate change’

    ‘Gap between support, aspiration to combat climate change’

    Yadav expressed his appreciation for the collective efforts of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the outcomes of COP26…reports Asian Lite News

    India on Thursday stressed that the current pace and scale of climate finance and technology support from developed countries are not matching the global aspiration to combat climate change, and called for action and implementation of commitments.

    Addressing the virtual Ministerial Meeting of Major Economies Forum (MEF) hosted by the US Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister, Bhupender Yadav said: “There is a need for upscaling the delivery and targets of implementation support including finance and technologies.”

    Reiterating India’s commitments to the ambitious targets announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the form of five element ‘Panchamrit,’ at the COP26 summit held in Glasgow in November 2021, he said that India has embarked upon one of the most ambitious energy transition programmes in the world, a Ministry statement said.

    Yadav expressed his appreciation for the collective efforts of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the outcomes of COP26, especially on the outstanding matters related to the Paris Agreement Rule Book. It would help countries chart action as agreed under Paris Agreement 2015 to keep emissions in check to restrict global temperature rise up to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial era, he said.

    He also called for the continued commitment to keep the momentum of climate action in 2022, including in the run up to COP27, and appealed all to work together to further pursue the efforts building on the COP26 outcomes.

    “Further, multilateralism and its rules-based order should be honoured by all without resorting to unilateral measures which would harm other countries,” stated the Minister emphasising that the principles and provisions of UNFCCC, including equity and common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and respective capabilities should continue to be the guiding pillars of global efforts to combat climate change.

    At COP26, Modi had presented an ambitious agenda for India’s contribution to the global efforts to combat climate change. His vision of Panchamrit involved installation of 500 GW non fossil energy capacity by 2030, reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent over 2005 levels, 50 per cent electric installed capacity coming from non-fossil sources by 2030, 1 billion tonnes reduction in carbon emissions till 2030, and India to become net-zero by 2070.

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  • India loses 259 billion labour hours annually due to heat

    India loses 259 billion labour hours annually due to heat

    With 3.3 billion workers globally, it works out around 205 lost hours per person per year…reports Asian Lite News

    Some countries are especially badly hit by heat-related labour losses. For example, India currently loses around 259 billion hours annually due to the impacts of humidity and heat on labour, more than double previous estimates of 110 billion hours, says a study by Duke University.

    Published in the journal Environmental Research Letters on Thursday, the study says that humidity and heat currently causes 677 billion hours of lost labour worth $2.1 trillion annually, and human-caused climate change is worsening these losses.

    With 3.3 billion workers globally, it works out around 205 lost hours per person per year.

    Heat, especially when combined with humidity, can slow people down when they’re performing heavy work such as in agriculture or construction. As the climate heats up further due to greenhouse gas emissions, every fraction of a degree of warming is causing more work time to be lost for heat-related reasons.

    Over the last four decades, heat-related labour losses have increased by at least nine per cent (>60 billion hours annually) as global average temperatures rose about 0.4 degree Celsius because of human activities.

    This new estimate of work lost to heat and humidity is about 400 billion hours greater than other widely-used estimates — roughly the same as the amount of work lost during the Covid-19 pandemic — due to the inclusion of more up-to-date data on how heat and humidity affect humans doing heavy work.

    The new data found that labour productivity can be slowed down at lower heat and humidity levels than previously assumed.

    India currently loses around 259 billion hours annually due to the impacts of humid heat on labour and worth an estimated Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) $624 billion.

    The US loses PPP $98 billion of labour per year. Without rapid emissions cuts, climate change is set to further increase losses in already hot countries, and historically cooler countries will start to see more significant labour losses.

    It is followed by China which loses 72 billion hours, up from an estimate of 24 billion; Bangladesh loses 32 billion hours, up from an estimated 15 billion; Indonesia loses 36 billion, whereas the previous estimate was 11 billion, and Vietnam loses 19 billion, up from an estimate of 8 billion.

    In terms of changes, in the first 20 years of this century, India lost 25 billion more hours annually compared to the previous 20 years, China lost four billion extra hours per year, Bangladesh three billion, Indonesia two billion and Vietnam two billion.

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  • SPECIAL 2022: India To Play Crucial Role on Net Zero

    SPECIAL 2022: India To Play Crucial Role on Net Zero

    It was necessary insertion as the rich nations, the principal polluters and high energy consumers, wanted just the coal to phase out leaving other energy sources in the fossil fuel basket untouched…reports Nivedita Khandekar.

    Two global platforms – UNFCCC COP and UNSC – witnessed India’s prowess as not just good negotiators for safeguarding her own interest but also for the global south. In a way, what India has been advocating all along vis-a-vis climate change, came to fruition in November and December 2021.

    “Year 2021 saw a steady stream of UN-backed reports reinforcing a stark message: man-made climate change is an urgent and even existential threat to life on Earth. Will the international community’s efforts to tackle the crisis, as seen at the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Conference (UNFCCC), result in meaningful action?” said the UN release on the last day of 2021.

    In November, at Glasgow, the UK, the last day of the COP was when India – ably led by Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav – insisted on the use of the term ‘phase down’ coal instead of ‘phase out’ in the Glasgow Climate Pact that 190 plus nations agreed to.

    It was necessary insertion as the rich nations, the principal polluters and high energy consumers, wanted just the coal to phase out leaving other energy sources in the fossil fuel basket untouched. It would have meant that poorer countries that are dependent on coal will have to forsake it at the same time that richer countries do but sans the option of oil and gas as they have.

    It is not that India only preached but not practised, unlike much of the western world that may have cleaned up their air but have an energy-intensive lifestyle leading to the highest per capita energy consumption.

    Offering a new mantra and raising its pledge for combating climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced at the COP26 that India will target a net-zero goal by the year 2070 and aim at increasing its non-fossil fuel energy to 500 GW in its energy mix by 2030.

    Terming it as ‘Panchamrut Ki Saugat’ – India’s contribution to climate action called as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Modi had said, India will reduce its carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 starting with reducing projected carbon emission from now till 2030 by 1 billion tonnes and committed to having renewable energy component of 50 per cent by 2030.

    Modi gave a new mantra for sustainable development through sustainable lifestyle, LIFE – ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ which, he said, can be a mass movement wherein instead of mindless and destructive consumption, there should be mindful and deliberate utilization.

    The other platform was not regular climate change-related but the prestigious United Nations Security Council (UNSC) were in December, India – with support of Russia and China – shot down a proposal to “Integrating Climate-Related Security Risk into Conflict-Prevention Strategies.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo IANS/PIB)

    While stressing that India is “second to none” in addressing climate action and climate justice, India stated that the Council is not the place to discuss either issue. “Today’s attempt to link climate with security obfuscates a lack of progress on critical issues under the UNFCC process. The text would constitute a step backward from collective resolve to combat climate change,” India’s permanent representative at the UN had said and also made it clear that “including climate change within the UN Security Council’s mandate would exclude most developing countries from discussions.”

    Unlike the UNFCCC – which works on consensus and gives equal weightage to each and every country that is party to it – the UNSC is dominated by rich nations. Therefore, India putting its foot down came as a godsent for the global south – comprising mostly poorer and developing countries from South Asia, Africa and Southern America.

    Having done all that, India now has the onus to put into domestic actions whatever it has said on global platforms. Much is left to be done for the poorest of the poor that is inevitably the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

    India is committed to green energy as it acknowledges that the solution to climate-related problems is within renewable energy. India has already committed to its expansion. “India will be carrying out the promises that the Prime Minister made at the COP. Our programmes such as railways on renewable energy, cutting down on carbon emission and increasing share of renewables in the energy mix is on track but at the same time we also believe that the developed countries need to enhance climate finance and technology transfer,” Yadav told.

    New partnerships for Africa to put climate equity, resilience

    Resilient infrastructure, adaptation, agriculture and afforestation are focus areas with Nagar Vans (City Forests) function as carbon sinks in view of increasing urbanization and outside, maintenance of wetlands/Ramsar Sites in rural areas, increasing forest cover for mitigation are a few others focus areas for the Ministry.

    But going beyond this, Yadav brought in clarity on the regular conflict between his Ministry and that of Tribal Affairs as he said, “We believe that we cannot save our forests without public participation. The livelihood of the local community, sustainability of the local flora and fauna and protection of the wildlife are all interdependent, not independent. So, we move ahead with Samagrata (comprehensiveness). Our ideology too believes in Samagrata and not in separatism.”

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