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Weather
Satellite Successfully Launched SRIHARIKOTTA (AP): METSAT, an exclusive meteorological satellite, was launched successfully by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C4 from Sriharikota space centre in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, September 12. Officials said the satellite, which lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, will give India more accurate weather forecasts, especially on developing weather conditions. Unlike the previous five satellites launched into the polar orbit which is closer to the Earth's north and south pole, METSAT was pushed into a geo-synchronous transfer orbit about 36,000 km from the Equator. The scientists said that METSAT would enable better data collection and transmission to the meteorological stations. The PSLV has been upgraded to give the required push to put the satellite into a geo-stationary orbit. The third stage of the vehicle is lighter and accommodates more solid propellant to give the required thrust. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has spent around Rs 750 million for the launch. The ISRO believes that the upgraded PSLV would be an attractive and cheap option to launch satellites for the international market. -ANI Global
Warming Depletes Himalayan Glaciers (Go
to Top) There are about 15,000 glaciers along the Himalayan mountains, where the rivers Sindhu, Brahmaputra, Yamuna and Ganga originate. Geologists fear that they will vanish by the year 2035 if no immediate steps are taken. The effects of global warming can be directly felt in the changing weather pattern across the Lahaul-Spiti region today. LAHAUL-SPITI (Himachal Pradesh): Tribal villagers of Himachal Pradesh contribute little to global warming, a curse of modern living, but they could be paying the price for the human follies. Many villages in the icy and picturesque Himalayan districts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur are increasingly threatened by flash floods that experts attribute to receding glaciers owing to the phenomenon of global warming. The Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur region, often called the 'Kingdom of Glaciers', has more than 335 glaciers including 'Barshigri,' Asia's largest. The area under permanent snow here is estimated to be 2,696 square km. Scientists have estimated that most of the glaciers along the entire Himalayan belt are receding at an alarming level. The Barshigri glacier is estimated to be receding at the rate of 10 meters every year. A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) study recently warned that a brown haze hanging over most of Asia, particularly South Asia, is cutting down solar light which could affect the climate and agriculture. Recently a flash flood in a small rivulet fed by a glacier razed the entire Changut village in Lahaul region. The unassuming rivulet flowing by the village suddenly turned into a gushing, violent torrent after a night of heavy rainfall, bringing with it snow-laden boulders and washing away livestock, huts and small bridges connecting the village. The flood came and brought landslides which destroyed the whole village. All the houses were badly damaged. The cattle got buried in the debris. The water and the avalanche took away everything . Over 35 people were killed and more than 750 cattle perished in the Lahaul-Spiti region in flash floods that struck in August last year. It also washed away more than 40 bridges and damaged many roads cutting off interior parts of tribal Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti region. About 180 lives were lost in flash floods that struck the region in 1997. Every year Himachal Pradesh incurs losses of more than 10 billion rupees (212.31 million dollars), amounting to 10 per cent of the state's GDP due to flash floods alone. Experts say the effects of global warming can be directly felt in the changing weather pattern across the Lahaul-Spiti region. "In June and July, the temperaturs in the entire country rose very high. The same was observed in Lahaul-Spiti also. Due to this increase in temperature, the glacial melt increased. Because the snow was very new and young, accumulations depleted fast. As a result, most of the small rivulets in an area around Udaipur and in Nehar Valley overflew," said Rakesh Kapoor, Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Project, Lahaul-Spiti region. Kapoor said the worrisome aspect of this phenomenon is the threat posed by "Morraine dam lakes" or glacier lakes which are formed at very high altitudes on rivulets blocked by falling debris as a result of collection of water in a trough-shaped formation. Scientists have identified, through remote sensing, nearly 38 Morraine dam lakes in the upper regions of Sutlaj and Beas rivers flowing across the region. Experts are of the opinion that if the present trend continues, more than 20 per cent of the small glaciers would become extinct and the larger ones would recede by a few km. Geologists fear that the Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035 if no immediate steps are taken. There are about 15,000 glaciers along the Himalayan mountains, where the rivers Sindhu, Brahmaputra, Jamuna and Ganga originate. -ANI |
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