Ramblings of a 70-year old: glacier

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Trekking in Sikkim near the Kanchenjunga Mountain

Sikkim provides amazing views of the Khangchendzonga Mountain. This is the third highest peak in the world and it towers over hills in most part of the state. Experts take the route up the Dzongri-Goechala to go near to Kanchenjunga and its sister peaks. This used to be the only popular trek route in Sikkim. However, Green Lake Trek is another option in north Sikkim. It takes one to the northeast base of Kanchenjunga. Sikkim always had a limited trekking option but the tourism department of the state is exploring possibilities of developing new trek routes. It gave the responsibility of this to a noted mountaineer and explorer from Kolkata. He has been exploring the great east ridge of Kanchenjunga since 2011 and in 2022, the Government of Sikkim appointed him. His task was to survey and evaluate possibilities of developing several new, eco-friendly and sustainable trails that would lead to the interiors of the great east ridge of Kanchenjunga. Accordingly, he explored the southern part of the great east ridge with Siniolchu in the north. He discovered a new route that led to the Zumthul Phuk Glacier, with a beautiful glacial lake. Zumthul Phuk Glacier in Sikkim: A new route beckons trekkers.

The initial part of the exploratory route followed the pilgrim route to the Tholung Monastery. This is located in the Dzongu region of north Sikkim which is just a day’s trek from the nearest road-head Bey. Mukherjee and his team of local sherpas from Dzongu region made their way through the Zumthul Phuk River gorge towards the Zumthul Phuk Glacier. He felt a proper trail along the route would help trekkers reach the glacier snout in two days from Temrong. He is hopeful that his discovery could open up a new trek route in Sikkim. That would help trekkers to try their hands on a relatively easy route to reach the base of one of the most beautiful peaks of the Himalayas. He warns that over-tourism can be disastrous to the already fragile ecosystem. If not cautious, it could destroy one of the least physically explored areas of the world.

Thursday, November 3, 2022

UNESCO predicts the world famous glaciers might disappear by 2050 due to global warming

The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO monitors more than 18,000 glaciers across 50 of its World Heritage sites. It mentions Mount Kilimanjaro apart from the Dolomites in Italy and the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the US. The prediction of UNESCO could have serious repercussion. It predicts that around 50 percent of World Heritage glaciers could almost entirely disappear unless the world takes corrective action. It may be possible to preserve them by keeping global temperature rise below 1.5C. UNESCO says World Heritage glaciers make up around 10 percent of the world's glacier areas overall. The worst part is that the world's best-known glaciers are gradually disappearing. That would be a major loss for global tourism. The report's lead author is Tales Carvalho. He estimates that World Heritage glaciers lose around 58 billion tonnes of ice every year on an average. In other words, the loss is equivalent to the total annual volume of water used in France and Spain together. It contributes to almost 5 percent of the global observed sea-level rise. Major glaciers including Mount Kilimanjaro and Dolomites to disappear by 2050, UN report says.

He adds that in order to prevent major glacier retreat worldwide it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions. UNESCO wants local authorities to make glaciers a focus of policy. They can achieve this by improving monitoring and research. They can also implement different measures of risk reduction. Tales Carvalho cautions - "As glacier lakes fill up, they can burst and can cause catastrophic floods downstream.” The timing of the report coincides with the COP27 event in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. It would be Africa's first UN climate conference in six years. Incidentally, a recent study found that glaciers in Switzerland lost half of their volume in less than a century. Moreover, the rate of retreat of ice is on the rise. This is a matter of concern.