Don’t blame only climate. The Chamoli disaster was also human- induced
The glacial burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand may well be nature’s way of telling humans that it can strike back when the ecological balance is destroyed. High-intensity stone quarrying, frequent blasting of mountains and digging of tunnels through the base of the fragile mountain system for the back-to-back under construction dams, each on the Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga rivers, have played havoc with the local ecology. To be sure the exact cause of the disaster that unfolded on Sunday is still being determined- but there is no doubt that the impact would have been far less with more prudent development of projects in the region.
The climate crisis may have aggravated the situated. A new report by Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain development said that 36 % of the volume of glaciers in Hindu Kush Himalayan region will be gone by the end of 2100 even if the world manages to keep the temp. rise within the 1.5 degree Celcius target of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Data from the Indian Space Research Organisation resource centre on Himalayan glaciers several times that melting of the glaciers on Himalayan Catchment area where Chamoli Falls has increased in the first 20 years of this century.
Glacial melting and bursts are well-documented. But little attention has been paid to the damage caused too local ecology and loss of forest cover in the upper reaches of the central Himalyan by building hydel dams and construction of wider roads.
The upper reaches of Uttrakhand source for several small riverine systems feeding the Ganga, already have 16 dams and 13 under construction.
What should be an eyeopener is that rarely, anywhere in the world do two such big disasters in a region take place in a short duration of less than a decade.
There is enough data to suggest that the number of severe flash floods due to glacial melt in Uttrakhand has increased post-2000 and the reason.
