New Delhi, 15 December 2021: Scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, while studying the glaciers in the upper Kali Ganga valley, Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, Himalaya, found that the 5 km long unnamed glacier (30.28089N- 80.69344E), covering an area of ~ 4 km2 in Kuthi Yankti valley (Tributary of Kali River), abruptly changed its main course and merged with an adjacent glacier named Sumzurkchanki, due to changes in climate and tectonic forcing sometime between the Last Glacial Maxima (19-24,000 years ago) and Holocene (10,000 years ago).
The Government encourages further research and study on the Himalayan region to find solutions to frequent natural calamities.
The government encourages research on the natural calamities in the Himalayan region by numerous research institutes, universities, IITs, IISc, etc. Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through its National Centre for Seismology is involved in the research using the recorded earthquake data to understand various phenomena related to earthquake processes and seismic hazard assessment particularly for Himalayan region. The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology has been pursuing research in understanding the causes and consequences of earthquakes, landslides and avalanches in the Himalaya with a view to provide mitigation measures.
This information was given by the Minister of State (I/C) for M/o Earth Sciences and M/o Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.