Source of the River Ganga is Threatened

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ALLAHABAD, INDIA, January 21, 2001: Environmentalists are monitoring the Ganga’s source, the Gangotri glacier. Receding at a rate of 6 to 12 meters every year and thinning in depth, the glacier is the primary source of water feeding the Ganga River. Information for a UN-sponsored study on snow and ice collected by satellite imagery predicts that, “If the present scenario does not change, most of the Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035.” The reduction of the glaciers has been attributed to global warming, increased pilgrim and tourist traffic, use of generators in towns located on the river, deforestation and the release of green house gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and fluro carbons.