Overall, glaciers have experienced a shrinkage of around 21 percent in the last thirty years. The increase in water flow resulting from glacier melt is turn leading to the creation of new glacier lakes across the mountains, like the Imja Tsho lake, which are prone to outburst and consequent flooding. Rock avalanches may also occur as a result of glacier melt.
Also, rain cycles have become more extreme. While severe floods are occurring due to heavier rainfall and fast snowmelt, periods of drought and water scarcity take place as well. Landslides and erosion are other effects of the changing rain patterns.
Temperatures are rising, particularly impacting mountain areas, above the world average. In Nepal, the temperature is increasing by about 0.06º Celsius per year, which is higher than the global rate.
The referred changes in the environment have important consequences on the population. Natural disasters caused by changing climatic conditions impact the agricultural sector, the fauna and flora, water resources and infrastructure.
Agriculture is a key economic sector in Nepal, reason why water related risks, namely, floods and droughts, severely impact this activity and hinder economic growth. Higher temperatures with concomitant decrease in precipitations result in less water resources. From the foot of the Himalayas to the Ganges river basin, communities in Nepal are experiencing a decrease in the water available, and neighboring countries are also being affected. Less snow in the north means less water reservoirs from up to downstream. As a result, climate change is causing profound harm on a country that relies heavily on agriculture and where economic development is a top priority. Due to the importance of agriculture, the government’s efforts are also concentrating on encouraging sustainable practices to reduce the influence of climate change.
Besides the impact on agriculture, the population is also enduring the proliferation of certain diseases as a result of climate change. The risk of malaria, cholera, typhoid and other illnesses related to water and insects is escalating because of the higher temperatures.
The infrastructure is affected by the ravaging floods as well. A dramatic instance was a glacier outburst that happened already in 1984 in the Khumbu area, destroying dwellings, bridges and an almost finished hydraulic project. And since hydraulic power is an important source of electricity in Nepal, draught periods result in less electricity available.
In sum, climate change is having a strong imprint on economic activity in Nepal. Agriculture and electricity production are two crucial areas that are suffering the consequences of climate change aftereffects. The difficulty in achieving long-term economic development is therefore exacerbated by the impact of climate change. In this line, the Nepal Climate Change Support Programme is a scheme which specifically intends to further climate change adaptation among the communities with less resources.
The issue of climate change is dire in Nepal. Variations in temperature and rainfall are deeply affecting the population and the infrastructure. Although the national government, international organisms and NGOs are coming together to tackle this important problem, the scarcity of financial resources hampers the efforts to deal with climate change.
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Nepal is experiencing many adverse effects of climate change. Glacier melts, fluctuating rain patterns and rising temperatures are the main consequences of climate change in the country.
The Himalayan glaciers are receding, and as they melt, they pose significant risks to the population and the ecosystem. The region of Sagarmatha is paradigmatic in relation to recoiling glaciers, as this phenomenon has been clearly observed in the area. Also, the Imja glacier, which decreased 75 meters in five years, is an example of the trace that climate change is leaving in Nepal
Sources
Shardul Agrawala et al., Development and Climate Change in Nepal: Focus on Water Resources and Hydropower, 2003, http://www.oecd.org/env/cc/19742202.pdf.
CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY 2011, available at http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/
WAYNE GUM ET AL., EVEN THE HIMALAYAS HAVE STOPPED SMILING: CLIMATE CHANGE, POVERTY AND ADAPTATION IN NEPAL, 2009, http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/nepal-climate-change-poverty-adaptation-0908.pdf.
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, An outline of the international environmental conventions to which Nepal is a party, http://moste.gov.np/elibrary#.Ukq_Fihqe5c
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United Nations, Global Issues: Climate Change http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/climatechange/.
Christian Webersik & Manish Thapa, Nepal Climate Change and Security Factsheet, 2008, http://www.ias.unu.edu/resource_centre/Nepal_Climate%20Change%20Facts%20Sheets%20Series_2008_1_lowres.pdf
WWF International, Climate Change Impacts in Nepal (last visited Oct. 11, 2013).
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/aboutcc/problems/rising_temperatures/hotspot_map/nepal.cfm