SaGAA

Abstract: The Himalayan glaciers face significant climate change and air pollution threats. In  this episode of GnY-Live, Professor N C Pant, a renowned geologist and a cryospheric expert,  discusses the impact of air pollution on glaciers, particularly in the Himalayan and Tibetan  Plateau regions, with Dr Sulagna Chattopadhyay, Editor-in-Chief, GnY. Professor Pant explains  aerosols—fine particles in the atmosphere—affect the health of glaciers and contribute to global  warming. Beyond the impact of carbon dioxide, aerosols increase heat retention in the  atmosphere by as much as 50 percent. Also, Prof Pant adds that 75 percent of the Himalayan  glaciers have retreated in the past century, with aerosols exacerbating this trend. However, the  Himalaya reacts differentially to warming, where the eastern glaciers display less retreat than the  western glaciers. Professor Pant explains the role of human activities, such as mining and  indu...

The paper on which this article is printed, reading glasses, paste, blade, kitchen slab, spoon, plate,  tiles, cell phone, battery, car, petrol….. What is the common thread that passes through these diverse items? They all contain materials obtained from Mother Earth! This article, being published sometime after Earth Day (April 22), showcases the significance of the earth and earth science to humans. Geology is generally understood as a subject that deals with the study of rocks but it is much more than that. It deals with the study of solid earth, its structure and composition, and all the processes that go on beneath and on the earth’s surface. Today we know that Planet Earth is not just solid earth but is a system that includes the atmosphere, hydrosphere (all water bodies), and cryosphere (glaciers, ice caps, and sea ice) in which biosphere (plants, animals, and microbes, including humans) thrives. Therefore, we call this discipline not geology but Earth System Science ; t...