Climatic fluctuations in Uttarakhand Himalayan region and resulting impacts: A review

Abstract

The Himalayan Mountains are the stock of precious biodiversity and water, and providers of ecosystem goods and services on which local communities depend. These “clean” regions are becoming victims of transport of atmospheric pollutants and climate-altering substances. Uttarak-hand state has become victim of several catastrophic events such as Cloud bursts, landslides and Floods in past few years. The young Himalaya is facing worse calamities with every passing year. The devastation in Uttarakhand in June, 2013 showed that some of the effects of climate change are already upon us. Flash floods in Uttarakhand were inevitable, given the record rainfall. But their strength was multiplied by glacial lake outbursts. And the effects were worsened many times by ill-planned development. It ought to serve as a wake-up call to desist from a development model that upsets fragile ecosystems on a large scale and impoverishes people who are already highly vulnerable to a wide range of social and economic problems. The economy of the mountain com-munities of Uttarakhand is largely dependent on its natural resource base and climate-sensitive livelihoods like subsistence agriculture, and forestry. However, the impacts of climate change are visible in mid- and high- altitude regions in the shape of changes in ecosystems and changes in seasons. These changes have both positive and negative effects on resource-based livelihoods. There is a need to identify the changes that are currently visible in the mountain regions, analyze them and help the local communities to adapt to them.