Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that recent study has shown that there have been lesser snowfall and greater rainfall in the Himalayas in the last few years.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Studies from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) show that over four glacierised basins (Chandra, Bhaga, Miyar and Parvati) of western Himalaya show an overall decreasing trend of precipitation during 1979-2018. However, this trend is not monotonic, with higher (23.9%) reduction in precipitation during accumulation (winter) season than ablation (summer) season (15.4%). Further, studies indicated that while the snowfall is decreasing, the liquid precipitation (rainfall) has been increasing over these glacierised basins particularly during the accumulation months.
The Minister said that increased rainfall in place of snowfall during spring would lead to early exposure of glaciers, enhanced glacier melt rate as well as could accelerate the frequency and magnitude of avalanches and flash floods. He said, avalanches, landslides are natural phenomenon that cannot be prevented. However, early warning and forecasts for rainfall and snowfall are being issued by various institutions under MoES and Ministry of Defence.