87
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. S. Goel et al. (eds.), Climate Change and the White World,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21679-5_7
Need for Reorienting Climate Change
Research in the Himalaya: Balancing
the Approach
Shyamal K. Nandi, Vikram S. Negi, and Ranbeer S. Rawal
Abstract Various studies have reported that the entire Himalayan region is prone
to ongoing climate change. There are a few regions in the world where these changes
might be as rapid as found in case of Himalaya. The increase in average temperature
is expected to be much higher in this region as compared to global average warming. With the expected changes in climate, there is higher probability of shifts and
changes in the structure, composition and function of forest ecosystems. However,
the global understanding on climate change implications in the Himalaya is most
often based on data sets of a particular biome or landform (e.g. Tibetan grass lands),
thereby making the other biomes/landforms and dependent communities less represented. As a result, the global projections/scenarios w.r.t. Himalaya remain less
applicable for the entire region particularly for the forest dominated Himalayan
Region. The forests in the region are vulnerable to climate change impacts, but the
extent and magnitude of potential response is still not well understood. The direction of investigations across regions is also not uniform. This calls for uniform distribution of studies across diverse landforms/biomes so that modeled projections/
scenarios become more agreeable and applicable.
Keywords Climate change · Climate model · Forest · Alpine ecosystem · Hindu
Kush Himalaya · Indian Himalayan Region
1 Introduction
Climate change (CC) is one of the key challenges for both developed and developing countries. According to Fourth and Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007, 2013) “Most of the
observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas
S. K. Nandi (*) · V. S. Negi · R. S. Rawal
G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development,
Almora, Uttarakhand, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. S. Goel et al. (eds.), Climate Change and the White World,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21679-5_7
Need for Reorienting Climate Change
Research in the Himalaya: Balancing
the Approach
Shyamal K. Nandi, Vikram S. Negi, and Ranbeer S. Rawal
Abstract Various studies have reported that the entire Himalayan region is prone
to ongoing climate change. There are a few regions in the world where these changes
might be as rapid as found in case of Himalaya. The increase in average temperature
is expected to be much higher in this region as compared to global average warming. With the expected changes in climate, there is higher probability of shifts and
changes in the structure, composition and function of forest ecosystems. However,
the global understanding on climate change implications in the Himalaya is most
often based on data sets of a particular biome or landform (e.g. Tibetan grass lands),
thereby making the other biomes/landforms and dependent communities less represented. As a result, the global projections/scenarios w.r.t. Himalaya remain less
applicable for the entire region particularly for the forest dominated Himalayan
Region. The forests in the region are vulnerable to climate change impacts, but the
extent and magnitude of potential response is still not well understood. The direction of investigations across regions is also not uniform. This calls for uniform distribution of studies across diverse landforms/biomes so that modeled projections/
scenarios become more agreeable and applicable.
Keywords Climate change · Climate model · Forest · Alpine ecosystem · Hindu
Kush Himalaya · Indian Himalayan Region
1 Introduction
Climate change (CC) is one of the key challenges for both developed and developing countries. According to Fourth and Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007, 2013) “Most of the
observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas
S. K. Nandi (*) · V. S. Negi · R. S. Rawal
G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development,
Almora, Uttarakhand, India