Recent studies by scientists at Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh has revealed that the Gangotri Glacier is rapidly disintegrating and receding at an alarming rate, as the maximum and minimum temperatures in the region showed an increase of 0.9 degrees centigrade and 0.05 respectively and snowfall declined by 37 cm annually.

A team of climate scientists recorded and analyzed snow and meteorological parameters for a period of 13 years from 2000 to 2012 and found a warming trend. “Maximum and minimum temperature reveal an increase of 0.9 degree Celsius and 0.05 degree Celsius respectively during the decade. Annual snowfall amount reveals a decrease of 37 cm in the decade,” says the report from the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh.

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists from the Ministry of Defense were based at ‘Bhojbasa’ observation station, nearly 5 kilometers from the Gangotri Glacier snout named ‘Gaumukh,’ have recorded their findings.

“We know that the glaciers, including the Gangotri, have been receding over the last few years. In this report we tried to corroborate it with meteorological data. It shows the effect of climate change,” H S Gusain, the lead author of the five-member team who did the study, told PTI.

The 30.2 km-long Gangotri glaciers are located in Uttarakhand and are the second largest glaciers in India. One of the primary sources of fresh water supply to the river Ganges, Gangotri has been found to have retreated more than 1,500 metres in the last 70 years.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that global surface temperatures have risen by almost a degree in the last century. The Western Himalayas have already shown a similar trend of increasing temperature and decreasing snowfall.

The team has been monitoring the Glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains, particularly the Gangotri since 1999. The team visited the glacier between June and October this year and has been observing the disintegrating of the snout of the glacier year after year.

The year 2002 was observed to be one with the highest snowfall of 416 cm, while 2004 and 2009 were observed with the least snowfall of 156 and 137 cm respectively, according to the report. The year 2004 was observed to be the warmest year during the last decade.

The report would soon be published in the Current Science journal.