India seems to be fervid on global warming
Whatever may be the reason of the strange silence of India before various instigations of China, the country becomes perfervid if there is any accusation of triggering global warming against it.
This fiery mood of the Government of India was witnessed once again recently in its national capital. In accordance with the Indian Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and international studies, India has formally avowed that the Himalayan glaciers were not receding due to global warming.
Speaking on this, Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of Environment, told press and media at New Delhi, “Most Himalayan glaciers are retreating. But some like Siachen are advancing and some like Gangotri are receding at a declining rate. However, there is no conclusive scientific evidence to link global warming or black carbon and the retreating Himalayan glaciers and that they will vanish in near future as propagated by the West. No abnormal retreat has been recorded.”Ramesh did release the discussion paper on ‘Himalayan Glaciers: A State-of Art Review of Glacial Studies, Glacial Retreat and Climate Change’ by VK Raina, India’s senior most glaciologist and former Deputy Director General of Geological Survey of India. It is to be noted that the findings of the study are in sharp contrast to the IPCC’s 2007 report. The report stated clearly that the Himalayan glaciers were receding faster than in any other part of the world and at the current rate of global warming, could disappear by 2035.
Ramesh however, said, “We are not challenging the IPCC. We have an alternate view. It challenges conventional wisdom and is not a political report. I would like scientists the world over to critique the report. They may debate the causes, but the health of the glaciers is very poor and the level of debris has reached alarming proportions. ” According to him, as part of an endeavor to give impetus to research in glaciology, no less than 15 weather stations will be set up in Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu.
