Glaciers are retreating rapidly, hinting at the future increasingly arid for the South Asian giant whose 1.4 billion people are faced with the challenge of climate change.
“It’s so amazing, so fast and happening every day and every secondsaid Sheethal Vepur Ramamurthy, a researcher at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany.Glaciers appear to be melting“, he said on Gaumukh’s website, “it’s a harsh reality“.”that climate change definitely plays a role“, he continued,”one can deny what is happening before our eyes, we just have to witness it“.
Nicknamed “Ganga Maa(Ganges mother), that is Gangeswhich traverses India for 2,550 kilometers, is revered by Hindus.
About 500 million Indians depend on it for their agricultural, household and industrial needs.
“The Ganges is our culture, our heritage, our identity. If he disappears, we will disappear with him“, said Sanjeev Semwal, 53, a Hindu priest from Gangotri, a city built under a glacier. Any attack on the river “should worry everyone“, he added. His family has worked for generations at the temple dedicated to Ganga, the river goddess.
