Rapid Fire
Gangotri Glacier Retreat Signals Climate Peril
- 01 Sep 2025
- 2 min read
A study by IIT Indore and ICIMOD (Nepal) reveals that the Gangotri Glacier System (GGS), the primary source of the Ganga, has lost 10% of its snowmelt flow over 1980–2020 due to rising temperatures and climate change.
- Himalayan glaciers are thinning at an average of 46 cm/year, and Gangotri’s snout is steadily receding. Increasing rainfall-runoff and base flow indicate climate-induced hydrological changes.
- Glacial lakes and other water bodies across the Himalayan region saw a 10.81% increase in area from 2011 to 2024 due to climate change (Central Water Commission).
Gangotri Glacier
- About: Gangotri Glacier, located in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand is one of the largest Himalayan glaciers originating from the northern slopes of the Chaukhamba range.
- It is a compound valley glacier, fed by several tributary glaciers like Raktvarn, Chaturangi, and Swachand glaciers.
- It is fed by peaks including Shivling, Thalay Sagar, Meru, and Bhagirathi III & it terminates at Gaumukh, from where the Bhagirathi River emerges and later joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganga at Devprayag.
- Gangotri National Park: Established in 1989, it encompasses Gaumukh, the source of the Ganga, and the popular Gaumukh-Tapovan Trek.
- It has dense temperate coniferous forests including chirpine, deodar, fir, spruce, oak, and rhododendron, and is home to rare and endangered species such as Black Bear, Brown Bear, Himalayan Monal, Himalayan Snowcock, Himalayan Tahr, Musk Deer and Snow Leopard
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Read More: River Ganga |
