Uttarakhand Legislator Warns Himalayan Snowfall Decline Will Deepen Delhi's Water Crisis

Uttarakhand BJP MLA Kishore Upadhyay warns that climate change is drastically reducing snowfall and accelerating glacier melt in the Himalayas, posing severe water scarcity threats to cities like Delhi. He emphasized the need for global awareness and preventive measures to protect Himalayan ecosystems and mitigate these impacts.

Climate change is drastically diminishing Himalayan snowfall and accelerating glacier melt, warned Uttarakhand BJP legislator Kishore Upadhyay during a New Delhi press conference on Tuesday.

Citing studies predicting the Himalayas could lose their snow cover in the next two to three decades, Upadhyay highlighted the severe water crisis this could trigger for cities like Delhi.

The legislator has launched the Global Himalayan Organisation to raise awareness about the plight of this critical mountain range. He emphasized that reduced snowfall and rapid glacier melt are altering the Indian monsoon and heightening the risk of glacial lake outburst floods.

Former NITI Aayog advisor Avinash Mishra, a member of Upadhyay's initiative, revealed that more than 27% of glacial lakes identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation have significantly expanded since 1984, worsening the situation.

Burning fossil fuels and rising forest fires are accelerating glacier melt, Mishra noted, impacting industries and agriculture dependent on Himalayan rivers. Upadhyay also pointed out the role of deforestation in the plains in exacerbating mountain warming and glacier melt.

He called for the protection of Himalayan forests, which serve as vital carbon sinks, to address this escalating problem. Without action, Upadhyay warned, even the president's house may not be spared from the consequences.