Melting Ice To Affect India, China While Kolkata Dhaka Shanghai Are Threatened
By Countercurrents.org
08 April, 2013
Countercurrents.org
Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson warned on April 6, 2013: Himalayan nations, including India and China, will be affected in a big way by the melting of the ice in Arctic and the glaciers in Himalayas. He asked parties and organizations to hold dialogue to deal with the issue. [1]
Noting that the Arctic, the Himalayas and Antarctica (AHA) are not isolated and separate parts of our global, he said their fate and fate of the people and future are closely connected.
Addressing a special session on "The AHA Moment: India and our Ice-Covered World" organized by the Aspen Institute India in New Delhi, Grímsson said the future of Himalayan nations will depend profoundly on the understanding of the science that ice is melting and also in reaching cooperation among nations to tackle the crisis looming large before them.
He said that the melting of the glaciers in Himalayas and ice in Arctic will lead to rising of sea levels and a large number of most populous coastal cities in India and China other nations then be totally submersed by sea.
Glacial melting contributes increased water flow in the tributaries of the rivers flowing from Himalayas and millions of people in Himalayan nations including India, China, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal and its neighboring nations will be affected, he said.
Grímsson cited the incident of the melting of the Arctic sea ice that created severe weather problems in northern China which has experienced extreme winter, causing severe challenges to transport systems, power networks, food production and daily life. Every political party, every functional community and environmental organizations should come together and hold dialogues and discussions on how to tackle the possible emerging scenario, he said.
The Iceland President also called for linking the Arctic, the Himalayas and Antarctic (AHA) and said that all the other ice-covered areas of the Earth together and the international dialogue on climate needed an "AHA" moment.
Kolkata Dhaka Shanghai threatened
Citing Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, the chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, a Kolkata datelined Hindustan Times report said: Cities like Kolkata, Shanghai and Dhaka are highly vulnerable to rising sea level due to climate changes as they are located in the coastal areas. Pachauri made the warning in Kolkata on April 6, 2013. [2]
"These cities, with huge population, are mega deltas, and they are likely to face the impact of climate change," Pachauri told media persons on the sidelines of the convocation at the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta.
He said the matter has to be taken up in all seriousness. "Scientific factors are evident. We cannot keep our eyes shut." he said.
Earlier, delivering his convocation address, Pachauri said: "Partial loss of ice sheets on polar land could imply meters of sea level rise, major changes in coastline, and inundation of low lying area, with greatest effects in river deltas and low-lying areas".
Another Kolkata datelined report by The Statesman [3] said:
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri asked: “Can any of our economic activities and enterprises function effectively if our rainfall deviates from the established patterns, temperatures frequently exceed past trends and sea level threatens our coasts and megadeltas like Kolkata?” “Economic activities must be sustainable, other wise it will have a reverse impact on the ecology,” he said.
Source:
[1] The Indian Express, PTI, Apr. 6, 2013, “'Melting of ice in Arctic and Himalayas to affect India, China'”,
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/melting-of-ice-in-arctic-and-himalayas-to-affect-india-china/1098617/0
[2] IANS, Apr. 7, 2013, “Rising sea levels could threaten Kolkata, Shanghai, Dhaka: Pachauri”,
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/Rising-sea-levels-could-threaten-Kolkata-Shanghai-Dhaka-Pachauri/Article1-1038736.aspx
[3] Apr. 6, 2013, “‘Kolkata vulnerable to rise in sea level’”, http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450888&catid=42
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