Effect of physical and chemical weathering on water resources: A glacial assessment

Abstract

Global climate change has a huge impact on our environment. The shrinking of the glaciers has affected not only the rivers and lakes but also the animals and birds. According to IPCC reports, climatic change is adversely affecting the glaciers and the trend will increase with the passage of time. The green house gases added by human activities are increasing the global temperature. Some glaciers are receding by 20 meters per year while few smaller ones have vanished or have come on the verge of extinction. The most of the rivers of South Asia like Ganga, Yamuna, Sindhu, Brahmaputra, etc. are fed by glaciers. In the absence of glaciers, these rivers will become seasonal rivers. This will affect lives of millions of people residing in their respective valleys/ plains, and have to face drought and flood frequently. In this research, the physical parameter of water has been studied in relation to the climate change, and their effects of glacier have been summed up. Over the past few decades, melting and retreat of the glaciers of the Himalayas have emerged as a major problem. In many Himalayan states, various types of efforts and research are being done to preserve the glaciers, to overcome the water crisis and climate change problem in future.