Indian troops’ presence endangers Siachen Glacier

[unicorn]

Indian troops’ presence endangers Siachen Glacier
Friday, November 26, 2010
By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: Siachen Glacier, the second longest glacier of the planet that regulates the climate in the region and is also the water tank for Pakistan, may disappear in future, as huge cracks and streams, lakes and rivers have appeared in the glacier mainly because of ‘human intervention’.
The glacier feeds Pakistani rivers, particularly the Indus River, and if this environmental degradation continues then Pakistan’s agrarian economy will come to an end with the death of this precious glacier.
New satellite images showgiant cracks have developed in Siachen Glacier. One of the most serious observations is the formation of a stream. And the development of cracks, streams, and glacial lakes show that glaciers may disappear if immediate remedial measures are not taken by India and Pakistan.

The cause of these cracks is not global warming; rather it is the presence of the Indian troops since 1984.
The glacier is melting at an unprecedented rate and this has already been reported. The melting has been attributed to the deployment of troops and establishment of permanent cantonments.
However, decision-makers of both countries have turned a blind eye to this climatic disaster. The Indian government is trying its best to associate the cause of glacier melting with the phenomenon of global warming, which is undoubtedly baseless and merely a case of evasion of responsibility.

When contacted, Mr Javed Malik, secretary of ministry of environment said that Pakistan would take up this issue in the Cancun Climate Conference scheduled for December 23-27. He said the president and the prime minister have been sensitised on the issue when we arranged a conference on the issue here in Islamabad. He said that the findings of many international institutions working on global climate about the fast depleting Siachen Glacier are not correct.

Siachen Glacier’s spread stands at 2400 miles and it passes through six countries, mainly Pakistan, China, India and Nepal. He said every country needed to come forward and develop consensus to save this main water tank and climate regulator.
Pictures show that the glacier, after melting into glacial lakes and streams, is joining the Nubra River.The main reasons for fast depleting of the glacier are the attempts of the Indian army to facilitate movement of its troops.

Mr Arshad H Abbasi, water and energy experts working for SDPI (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) says the Indian army is responsible for the cutting and melting of glacial ice through application of chemicals for construction of bunkers. Indian troops are involved in dumping of chemicals, metals, organic and human waste, and daily leakages of 2000 gallons of kerosene oil. This oil passes through 250 km of a plastic pipeline, laid by the Indian army across the glacier.

To a question Mr Abbasi categorically denied all claims that glaciers in Jammu and Kashmir including Siachen Glacier are melting due to global warming. It has been a challenge for scientists working on climate change to understand how the adjoining Baltoro Glacier on the other side of Saltoro Ridge, which divides the two glaciers, does not seem to be experiencing the same effect.

The causes of the recent floods in Pakistan, he said, is blamed on La NiÒa but very less attention is paid toward the cloud burst in Siachen and Ladakh region, which is because of an uneven development including development of airports and helipads on various locations of glaciers. “The unprecedented cloud burst broke all records of rainfall of modern recorded history of meteorological data pertaining to the region.”
Although scientists agree that the recent territorial monsoon rainfall has been because of the confluence of the Western monsoon system, they failed to correlate on the reasons behind this atmospheric weather divide. It has been reported in various international research institutions that rainfalls caused the 2010 floods in Pakistan. “The ministry of foreign affairs never raised the question of melting glacier with India at global platform, which ultimately appeared disastrous for Pakistan,” he deplored.

The sources said that in 2005, a team from the University of Newcastle, UK compiled temperature data for several instrumental records. The Karakoram and Hindu Kush Mountains of the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) were analysed for seasonal and annual trends over the period 1961-2000 and compared with neighbouring mountain regions of Pakistan and India. Strong contrasts are found between the behaviour of winter and summer temperatures and between maximum and minimum temperatures but decision makers of both countries remained unmoved. This is of particular concern for the ministry of environment and ministry of water and power, which never took this issue to any international forum.

Mr Abbasi said Pakistan should take the case to the International Court of Justice, as the issue is one of the most potent cases of climate change injustice caused by a neighbouring country. An international commission should, he proposed, be established based on neutral climate change experts to fix the responsibility and quantify the impacts. Based on the findings, he also urged Pakistan to persuade international community to pressure India for an immediate demilitarisation of Siachen and declaration of all glaciers as protected areas.

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Well it is really hard to digest that Indian Troops presence is the sole reason for this...

 

[Jade]

Until Pakistan agrees to accept the actual ground position line at Siachen, India will not withdraw

 

[Surrender2me]

Until Pakistan agrees to accept the actual ground position line at Siachen, India may not withdraw...

u should put like this
Until Pakistan agrees to accept the actual ground position line at Siachen, India will not withdraw..

 

[Malik Usman]

India is illegally occupying that area.....that are belongs to Pakistan.

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

India is illegally occupying that area.....that are belongs to Pakistan.

lo g kar lo baat..!

 

[Jade]

u should put like this
Until Pakistan agrees to accept the actual ground position line at Siachen, India will not withdraw..

See..I have edited my post

 

[brahmastra]

we can't vacate Siachin, we had bad experience in 1999.
the moral of the story 'India can't trust Pakistan'.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

hindustani trolls at it again; massive clean-up and sanitizing operation required to remove this stinking garbage




Melting Ice of Siachen Glacier: A Cause of Recent Flooding in Pakistan?

War-specific developments are a death sentence for Himalayan glaciers. Blaming only global warming for rapid defrosting is a false impression being created deliberately by India with a view to covering up the serious and catastrophic environmental crime its army is committing

Glaciers are ancient rivers of compressed snow that creep through the landscape, shaping the planet’s surface. They are the earth’s largest freshwater reservoirs, collectively covering an area the size of South America. Most of the world’s glaciers are located around the poles. In the non-polar region, the Himalaya Mountains are the origin of many glaciers and important rivers of Asia. The range offers a variety of glaciers. It includes Siachen, Baltoro, Biafo, Nubra and Hispur Glaciers. But the most important is the Siachen Glacier, which is the largest glacier outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about 35°3’N 77°0’E, at an altitude of 15,000 feet, on the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. A portion of it is being controlled each by India and Pakistan. 70 km (43 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakorams. The glaciers are the main and the biggest source of fresh water in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. Therefore they are a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people of the area whose food security is dependent on Himalayan waters.

The Siachen Glacier’s melting ice is the main source of the Nubra River in Indian occupied Ladakh, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the Indus River. Thus the glacier is a major source of the Indus waters. The Indus Basin is the 12th largest basin in the world, ensuring food replenishment to millions of people. The geographic layout of the area is such that it slopes towards the south and southwest. Therefore speedy melting of the Siachen Glacier increases the chances of flooding the Indus Basin and causing destructive snow avalanches on both sides of Saltoro Ridge. If this happens, most of the routes used by world mountaineering expeditions, particularly originating or passing through Pakistan, would become unsafe.

As a matter of fact glaciers have been retreating worldwide since the end of the Little Ice Age (around 1850), but in recent decades glaciers have begun melting at rates that cannot be explained by historical trends. Since the early 1960s, mountain glaciers worldwide have experienced an estimated net loss of over 4,000 cubic kilometres of water. However, among the legendary peaks of K2 and Nanga Parbat, glaciers with a penthouse view of the world are rather growing. It is the Siachen Glacier only which is melting and that too on the eastern side of the Saltoro Ridge (presently occupied by the Indian army), the retreat of which has been observed as about 110 meters a year.

It is the fastest melting rate of any glacier in the world.

Reports also indicate that a large lake has formed in the middle of the Siachen Glacier presently occupied by the Indian army.

It seems very strange that the glacier is defrosting fast on one side and at the same time growing on the other side. It really raises a question why global warming is not affecting the Himalayan glaciers uniformly? Is it global warming or something different that is causing rapid melting, thereby shrinking the glacier? In the recent past, expert reports suggested another probable cause: the erection of artificial infrastructure and human activity in the area as it has been an active battlefield for the last two decades or so.

The surfacing of a lake at a location which is the centre of military activity of the Indian army further strengthens such speculations. It indicates one more thing that glaciers on the western side bear thin infrastructure and human activity. In any case, global warming has less to do with deicing of the Siachen Glacier.

It is also evident from a statement of the Indian environment minister who admitted that there was no scientific proof to support the idea that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers was being caused by global warming.

A report in the August 10, 2009 issue of Current Science journal of India said that the “Siachen Glacier has not been affected by the rise in global temperatures.” Jammu University scientists have also claimed that the “Himalayan glaciers, including the world’s highest battlefield Siachen, are melting not because of global warming.” The prevailing evidence therefore points towards extraordinary activity of the Indian army, the infrastructure being established and huge explosive storages on the eastern side of the Saltoro Ridge.

The effects of thawing of glaciers and particularly Siachen Glacier, being the largest in the region, are going to be devastating. However, there exists little awareness among the world community regarding the causes of this phenomenon. After clarifications of scientific experts and Indian officials themselves, it leaves not even an iota of doubt that the rapid shrinkage of the Siachen Glacier is due to chemical and explosive storage and cutting of glacial ice by the Indian army and not by global warming.

The de-icing of glaciers is not only hazardous for the food security of the region, particularly for the Indus Basin area, it is equally disadvantageous to the world’s mountaineering expeditions that commence their journey from this area. The area contains the highest peaks of the world like K2 and Nanga Parbat and remains attractive to world hikers. Ensuring a pollution-free and safe environment is the joint responsibility of all. It must be appreciated that war-specific developments are a death sentence for Himalayan glaciers. Blaming only global warming for rapid defrosting is a false impression being created deliberately by India with a view to covering up the serious and catastrophic environmental crime its army is committing. It is therefore a moral obligation of the world community and United Nations to take notice of the Indian army’s activities in Siachen and ensure that the Himalayan glaciers are not disturbed. Their deterioration would not only be detrimental to food safety, it would also be catastrophic to global environmental efforts.

 

[ARCHON]

OMG they are storing weapons and chemicals on thousands of square kilometers.. evil bharatis.

 

[Ahmad]

Pakistan is Illegally occupying Pakistan That area Belongs to India... Baluchistan Belongs to Afghanistan, ever disputed region!!!!!

and who told you balouchistan belongs to afghanistan? it belongs to paksitan. please dont post baseless comments.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

and who told you balouchistan belongs to afghanistan? it belongs to paksitan.

glad to see an indian who knows geography.....

the country name is PAKISTAN though. Baluchistan belongs to both Pakistan and Iran ---each side shares a cut

 

[HAIDER]

Well, UN and other environmental organizations in both India and Pakistan has already submit reports many years back and warn of full withdrawal of forces from territory,otherwise huge natural disaster are expecting in coming years. Unfotunately Indian army dumping oil barrels ,daily leaks during loading oil on helicopter and other transport vehicle, obviously this is slowly destroying the glacier. Gas fumes and explosive is already contaminating the area, that cause increase in temperature and causing the ice melt quickly rather its natural pattern.
Its living example, Pak army stationed on this glacier for decades, but never had any environment issue in that region. They kept the sanctity of glacier environment. Since India rush to this Glacier when Pak was busy in Afghan war, ruined both Glacier and TRUST.

 

[Hindustani]

India is illegally occupying that area.....that are belongs to Pakistan.

pakistan is illegally occupying azadi Kashmir, & Gilgit
Oh and that piece of land Aksai chin that also belonged to the Indian Kashmiri people which your troops stole to give your chinese brothers

 

[Aslan]

pakistan is illegally occupying azadi Kashmir, & Gilgit
Oh and that piece of land Aksai chin that also belonged to the Indian Kashmiri people which your troops stole to give your chinese brothers

Nothing better was expected from the likes of you, a bright troll indeed. Good luck living in the kuku land that is ur imagination.