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Rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers has major implications for water supply in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, said on Monday.
He said the melting of glaciers because of global warming has left the scientific community worried. "The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at a very rapid rate which has major implications for water supply in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent," Pachauri said.
"Because most of our rivers originate in those glaciers, there is a strong likelihood of a reduction in water supply," he remarked.
"This has also led to a rise in the sea-level. In the 20th century, the sea-level rose by 17 centimetres. That is a significant increase," the Nobel laureate said.
"At this rate, we are likely to find that in the 21st century, the sea-level rise will be anywhere between 18 and 59 cm. This, incidentally, does not take into account the possibility of the collapse of Greenland and the Antarctica ice-sheet," he said.
"Now, if that were to happen, we will get sea-level rise to several metres and affect the geographical features of the earth," he warned.
According to Pachauri if the sea-levels were to rise by 0.4 metres to 1.4 metres in the coming years, it will spell doom for several communities and several habitations on this planet, including countries like Mauritius and Bangladesh.
"The world has to step in because the problem has been caused by a group of countries that have cumulatively added to the concentration of greenhouse gases. Large impact can be expected due to past emissions," Pachauri added.
According to him, Earth's temperature could rise by 1.8 degrees to four degrees Celsius in the coming years. "We clearly have a serious problem on our hand," he said.
"Therefore, it is absolutely essential that not only do we adapt to climate change, but take vigorous steps in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases," he added.
He said if the world did not act and cut down on carbon emissions by 2015 then it will witness much higher temperature increases than can be projected at this point of time.
Pauchari also said changes in lifestyle and behaviour are needed to arrest carbon emissions. "We cannot continue on a path which is totally oblivious to the impacts and footprints of our actions on Earth's ecosystem," he mentioned.