Climate Change in Himalaya

So far we have talked about the climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem disturbance causing various issues in the Himalayas, these issues need to be closely monitored and studied in order to reduce scientific uncertainty and provide a science-lead analysis for policymakers to address.  The well-known complex terrain in the Himalayas with its high variability of landmass and topography, make the ground monitoring and measurement  less successful, point data  from weather or hydrological station are not good enough to be a representative in certain areas.  Data coverage and quality are of high importance for developing environmental  models, incorrect parameters will result in significant  model error , thereby the cutting-edge geospatial technologies - Remote Sensing & GIS have been applied and funded to bridge the spatial information gap for the Himalayas since  two decades  ago.   By definition,  Remo...

Himalayan is a paradise for plant species, comprised of 39% grassland, 20% forested area, 15% of shrubland, and 5% agricultural land . The vegetation can be broadly grouped into four altitudinal types— tropical, subtropical, temperate, and alpine . Apart from elevation, the plant communities is also affected by climatic factors such as changes in temperature, precipitation, snow cover, wind and sun exposure. Meanwhile  anthropocentric influence  is driving vegetation dynamics to a change owing to urbanisation, deforestation, land-use change and hydropower development. Although facing the challenge of Himalayan topographical complexity and harsh environment, advanced methods such as satellite remote sensing and  Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)   have been developped and utilised  for high-quality mapping and data analysis. Numerous institutions also endeavour to make progress with government and local community on plant life conservation and vulner...