Environmentalists alarmed as Himachal witnesses lesser snow
The Hindu
Average precipitation tendency has been decreasing, especially the monsoon rains: IMD official
The hill state of Himachal Pradesh has been gradually witnessing lesser snow in the past decade and the area under the snow is also decreasing. The trend triggered by climate change has alarmed environmentalists, considering the importance of seasonal snow cover as a major input in controlling the hydrology of the river basins in the ecological fragile State.
A recent study conducted jointly by the State Centre on Climate Change and Space Applications Centre (ISRO) Ahmedabad, using Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) satellite data has revealed that all major river basins including Satluj, Ravi, Chenab and Beas have witnessed an overall decrease of 18.5% in area under snow in 2020-21 winters in comparison to 2019-20.