CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON NEPALESE ENVIRONMENT

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON NEPALESE
ENVIRONMENT

• Ram Charitra Sah(B.Sc., B.Sc. Forestry, M.Sc.
  Environmental Science)Staff Scientist PRO
  PUBLIC, Nepal
• ICEDM August 2005

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Introduction

• Nepal, country of snow fed mountains including
  Mt. Everest, rivers and nature paradise facing
  increasing impact of climate change on its water
  resources, river ecology, weather changes, and
  biological diversity.
• Though Nepal contribution is very less (0,025)
  in the global burden of greenhouse gases but she
  is facing a lot of increasing impact of global
  warming brought by climate change resulting in
  the losses of human life and property.
• The annual temperature rise in Nepal is about
  0.06 degree Celsius per year and in the Himalayan
  region the temperature is rising twice as fast or
  about 0.12 degree Celsius per year.
• Glacial melt will affect freshwater flows with
  dramatic adverse effects on biodiversity, and
  people and livelihoods, with a possible long-term
  implication on regional food security.

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Composition of the Atmosphere

• Atmosphere is the gaseous envelope surrounding
  the earth precious for life sustaining.
• The atmosphere has, broadly, three categories of
  constituents, major, minor and trace.
• For Pollution free dry air at ground level the
  component may be expressed as percent by volume
  as follows

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Composition of a Pollution free Atmosphere

• Trace Components
• Neon (1.83 ? 10-3),
• Helium (5.24 ? 10-4),
• Methane (9 ? 10-4),
• Krypton (1.14 ? 10-4),
• N2O (2.5 ? 10-5),
• H2 (5 ? 10-5),
• Xenon (8.7 ? 10-8),
• SO2 (2 ? 10-8),
• O3 (trace),
• NH3 (1 ? 10-6),
• CO (1.2 ? 10-5),
• NO2 (1 ? 10-5),
• Iodine (trace).

• Major Component
• Water Vapor(0.1-5)
• Oxygen (20.94)
• Nitrogen (78.09)
• Minor Component
• Argon (9.34 ? 10-1),
• CO2 (3.25 ? 10-2)

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Structure of the AtmosphereThe atmosphere
broadly divided into four regions as shown in the
table given below. It extends up to 500 km with
temperatures varying from a minimum of 2oC to a
maximum of 1200oC.
Major region of the atmosphere
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What is Climate Change?

• Carbon dioxide (present level 370 ppm),
  non-pollutant species, is of serious
  environmental concern.
• It has the potential to rival nuclear wars and
  recent tsunami in terms of massive irreversible
  damage to the environment.
• CO2 acts as a sink/or blanket over the earth
  allowing incoming short waves solar radiation to
  penetrate the atmosphere but absorbs outgoing
  long wave radiation thus helping to control of
  the earth heat balance.
• As the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere
  increases, it traps more and more heat and thus
  atmospheric temperature rises.
• Being an aerosol CO2 absorb reflects and
  scattered incoming radiation in one hand and
  absorb and reradiates outgoing infrared radiation
  thus resulting global warming.

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Phenomena of Global Warming
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Relative Contribution of GHGs to Temperature Rise

• CO2, is the major greenhouse gas but there is
  other green house gases-methane, CFCs, nitrous
  oxide and water vapor.
• The relative contributions of the radioactively
  active gases. HCFCs and other gases CO, NOx, SO2,
  PFCs, SF6 also have indirect impact on absorptive
  characteristics of the atmosphere helping in
  global warming.

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The contribution of major GHG, its residence
period in atmosphere, and their relative
effectiveness in raising temperature with respect
to each CO2 gas molecules  
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Nepal's Response to Climate Change

• Although Nepal signed the UNFCCC on 12th June
  1992, it has recently decided to ratified the
  Kyoto Protocol. Process is underway.
• Not taken much concrete steps towards controlling
  green house gas emission or mitigating the
  impacts of climate change.
• Some University as well as I/N/GOs are initiated
  related research and raising awareness on this
  issue.
• The government has prepared an initial National
  Communication Report, as required by the UNFCCC.
• This report has prepared an inventory of green
  house gas emission, assessed vulnerabilities,
  predicated impacts and suggested mitigation and
  adaptation measures.
• Nepal does not have any specific laws, policies
  dealing with climate change

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Climate Change and its Impacts in Nepal

• Temperature in Nepal is increasing at a rate of
  approximately 0.06 degrees Celsius per year.
• The temperature in the Himalayas is increasing at
  a faster rate, which is having serious impact on
  the countries glacial lakes the main source of
  Nepal's water resources.
• The Rika Samba Glacier in the Dhaulagiri region
  is retreating at a rate of 10m per year. This is
  very unusual as glacial movement is usually
  measured in millimeters.
• Similarly the AX010 Glacier of Shorong Himal will
  be extinct by 2060 if the current trend
  continues.
• UNEP has warned that more than 40 Himalayan
  glacial lakes are dangerously closed to bursting
• Of these, 20 glacial lakes are identified as
  potentially dangerous for GLOF events (ICIMOD
  2001).
• Rapidly melting glaciers means more seasonal
  variation in river flow, which will in turn
  result in water shortage, frequent floods and
  draughts in the country thus livelihood get
  impacted.
• Climate change can reduce agriculture production
  thus food insecurity, loss of biodiversity,
  increased desertification and changes in social
  structure.

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Impact on Water Resources and Peoples
Livelihoods

• The Himalayan region of Nepal is no exception
  rapid retreat of glaciers being reported. Which
  has threats to
• the thousands of people living downstream from
  potential bursting of the glacial lakes that are
  forming and rapidly growing,
• the long term availability of water, and
• lead to a water supply crisis in the future and
  food safety problem.
• Some experts even predicting that the glaciers in
  the Himalayan region will vanish with in 40
  years!
• If such predictions are true, diminished river
  flows could cause catastrophic water shortages
  thought the region.
• affects all the snow fed rivers and the current
  large ambitious River Link Project of the India.

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GLOFs and its Damages in Nepal
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Potentially Danger Glacial Lakes of Nepal
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Climate Change and its impact on Nepalese
Biodiversity 

• Biodiversity is the variety of different species,
  the genetic variability of each species and the
  variety of different ecosystems that they form.
• Nepals high biodiversity is a reflection of its
  unique geographical position, altitudinal ( 60 to
  8848 m) and climatic variations ( tropical to
  alpine).
• These widely varied physical conditions support
  over 2 percent of flowering pants, 3 percent of
  pteridophtes, and 5 percent of bryophytes of the
  world's flora.
• It also supports more than 852 species of birds
  (8.6 of worlds), 181 species of mammals (4 of
  world), 1822 species of fungi, 182 species of
  fishes.
• In view of the species diversity in wild habitat,
  Nepal occupies 25th position and 11th position on
  the global and continental basis respectively.
• Nepal is protecting her unique flora and fauna
  through declaring more than 18 of its total
  land as protected land through creation of 9 NP,
  3 WR, 1 HR, 3 CA and 6 BZ.
• Two Nepalese NPs are listed in the UNESCO World
  Natural Heritage Sites Sagarmatha National Park
  (1979) and the Royal Chitwan National Park (1984)
  rich in biodiversity