Madhusmita Nanda

A quick summary of the report's contents.....

In terms of the area covered by glaciers, the Himalayan-Hindu Kush region is considered the third pole on Earth. In this third pole region, the eastern Himalayan region is thought to be more active. As shown by multiple experts, the Yarlung Tsangpo, from which the river Brahmaputra flows, is already demonstrating the consequences of climate change-related glacier melting. The majority of the Brahmaputra's tributaries are glacier-fed, and just a few of the hundreds of glaciers in the eastern Himalayas have been investigated, leaving little data on glacial retreat in this region. As long-term changes in glacier cover area, extent, and volume are regarded an effective indication of climate change, these glaciers also store vital information from the past, where study may delve into and aid to comprehend the historical scenario. For the dynamic Brahmaputra, which flows across the plains of Assam to Bangladesh, studies on the glacial melt component and its influence on the water balance model are still in their infancy. The Brahmaputra basin's whole surface and subsurface hydrology is affected by the complicated Eastern Himalayan topography and the influence of fluctuations in precipitation and meltwater component. Summer monsoon precipitation predominates the eastern Himalayan area, causing glaciers to disintegrate at a far faster rate than in the western and central Himalayan zones. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that glaciers will recede in the next years, producing landslides and floods, in its 2019 report. According to scientific explanations, the rapidly disappearing eastern Himalayan glacier near the Third Pole is very susceptible to climate change and poses a significant threat to the communities that rely on it, which includes primarily the Brahmaputra ecology and habitat. On the Himalayan glaciers, several research projects have been conducted from time to time using various sources. However, research on the current and future health of Himalayan glaciers, particularly in the Eastern Himalayas, aids in the development of a comprehensive picture of regional and global climate change implications.