Scientists Are Baffled: The Glaciers That Refuse to Melt
Trans Himalayan Adventure - Travelling Places
[{'start': '0.160', 'end': '5.839', 'text': 'Very close to us is a\nplace on earth where, unlike the rest of the world,'}, {'start': '5.839', 'end': '13.880', 'text': 'glaciers are increasing instead of decreasing. In\nfact, since 1880, the average temperature of the world has'}, {'start': '13.880', 'end': '20.560', 'text': 'increased by 1.17 degrees Celsius and although this\nincrease may not seem so much, but if we'}, {'start': '20.560', 'end': '27.359', 'text': 'look at this diagram, then the\ntemperature of the earth has increased very rapidly only after 1970'}, {'start': '27.359', 'end': '33.920', 'text': 'and especially the last 10 years have been the hottest years\non this earth as compared to the last 5 and a quarter years, the'}, {'start': '33.920', 'end': '40.079', 'text': 'effect of which is clearly visible\nin the increasing sea level of this earth'}, {'start': '40.079', 'end': '45.600', 'text': 'and also in the shrinking glaciers and\nwhose effect can be prominently seen in the Himalayas'}, {'start': '45.600', 'end': '51.360', 'text': 'where after the North and South Poles, there is the\nlargest snow repository of the earth'}, {'start': '51.360', 'end': '58.079', 'text': 'and that is why it is also called the third pole of this world,\nbut there is'}, {'start': '58.079', 'end': '65.199', 'text': 'also an area in this Himalayan system which is defying\nthis climate change. Where, how and'}, {'start': '65.199', 'end': '71.600', 'text': 'why all this we will see later. In fact, the earth\nbecoming hot and cold is not a new thing. In'}, {'start': '71.600', 'end': '78.479', 'text': 'fact, the last major ice age of the world\nended about 12,000 years ago and it is'}, {'start': '78.479', 'end': '86.080', 'text': 'believed that due to that the sea\nlevel has decreased.  It had gone up to 120 meters from the peak of its ice age.'}, {'start': '86.080', 'end': '91.759', 'text': 'How dramatic that period must have been for the human civilization of that time can be'}, {'start': '91.759', 'end': '97.680', 'text': 'gauged from the fact that'}, {'start': '97.680', 'end': '103.840', 'text': 'almost every ancient civilization has\npreserved the memory of such an old event till date through its mythology. Be it the'}, {'start': '103.840', 'end': '111.439', 'text': 'story of Noah in the West\nor Manu in India. Anyway, there are some natural causes for the warming of the Earth, the'}, {'start': '111.439', 'end': '116.399', 'text': 'main ones among which are variations in solar'}, {'start': '116.399', 'end': '122.159', 'text': "activity. Minor changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun and\nits axis of rotation"}, {'start': '122.159', 'end': '127.520', 'text': "also have a huge impact on the Earth's weather\nand volcanic activity"}, {'start': '127.520', 'end': '133.520', 'text': 'also contributes to it and due to these\nreasons, these natural climatic cycles have been going on for millions of years on Earth,'}, {'start': '133.520', 'end': '138.879', 'text': 'which are also called Milankovitch cycles.'}, {'start': '138.879', 'end': '145.040', 'text': "But in today's modern era, many\nhuman activities are also contributing to it,"}, {'start': '145.040', 'end': '150.879', 'text': 'such as burning of fossil fuels,\nrapid clearing of forests, many types of'}, {'start': '150.879', 'end': '156.319', 'text': 'increased industrial activities, all of which\nemit greenhouse gases,'}, {'start': '156.319', 'end': '161.519', 'text': 'contributing to global warming. Now, which\ncomponent is responsible for this?  There is no consensus on how much impact the warming of the earth is having,'}, {'start': '161.519', 'end': '167.200', 'text': 'but the place where'}, {'start': '167.200', 'end': '172.560', 'text': 'the clearest effect of global warming can be seen in the world are the\nglaciers of this earth.'}, {'start': '172.560', 'end': '177.760', 'text': 'Glaciers are actually formed over thousands of years in\nthose places where'}, {'start': '177.760', 'end': '183.760', 'text': 'ice accumulates faster than it melts.\nWe can also call them rivers of ice'}, {'start': '183.760', 'end': '189.440', 'text': 'which move slowly due to their own weight and gravity.\nThese'}, {'start': '189.440', 'end': '195.360', 'text': 'glaciers are of four main types.\nIn mountain regions, particularly valleys, they are'}, {'start': '195.360', 'end': '200.720', 'text': 'called alpine glaciers and when these\nglaciers extend from the valleys of mountains'}, {'start': '200.720', 'end': '205.519', 'text': 'to flat plains, then they are\ncalled pyramidal glaciers. Apart from this, there are'}, {'start': '205.519', 'end': '210.640', 'text': 'vast continent size\nglaciers which for example are'}, {'start': '210.640', 'end': '216.319', 'text': 'found in Antarctica and Greenland which are also known as\nice sheets and when these glaciers'}, {'start': '216.319', 'end': '221.680', 'text': 'extend to sea water, then they are called\ntide water glaciers. The sense of these glaciers is that'}, {'start': '221.680', 'end': '228.239', 'text': "69% of the world's fresh water is stored in these glaciers"}, {'start': '228.239', 'end': '234.560', 'text': 'and the largest of these glaciers is\nin Antarctica.  400 km long and 100'}, {'start': '234.560', 'end': '240.879', 'text': 'km wide Lambard Glacier whose\nthickness is up to 2.5 km at some places'}, {'start': '240.879', 'end': '246.480', 'text': "and for reference many of India's most\npopular hill stations like Shimla, Manali,"}, {'start': '246.480', 'end': '252.080', 'text': 'Nainital are located at an altitude less than this.\nHowever, outside the North and South Poles,'}, {'start': '252.080', 'end': '257.600', 'text': 'most glaciers are found\nin the Himalayas and Trans Himalayan region and'}, {'start': '257.600', 'end': '263.680', 'text': 'that is why they are called the third pole of the world\nand one mountain range where'}, {'start': '263.680', 'end': '268.960', 'text': "some of the world's largest glaciers lie outside the polar region is the\nKarakoram Mountains. The"}, {'start': '268.960', 'end': '274.080', 'text': 'Karakoram Mountains lie\nin the Trans Himalayan region and form'}, {'start': '274.080', 'end': '280.639', 'text': "India's northernmost point in Ladakh. In\nfact, millions of years ago, when the Indian and"}, {'start': '280.639', 'end': '286.080', 'text': 'Tibetan plates collided, then\nafter a long and complicated process,'}, {'start': '286.080', 'end': '291.600', 'text': 'if I summarize in simple language, the\nHimalayan mountain range was formed mostly on the Indian plate,'}, {'start': '291.600', 'end': '297.440', 'text': 'which includes the Shivalik,\nMiddle Himalayas and Greater Himalayas mountain'}, {'start': '297.440', 'end': '303.040', 'text': 'ranges and mostly on the Tibetan plate\nlie the Trans Himalayan ranges, which'}, {'start': '303.040', 'end': '310.240', 'text': 'include the Sanskar Range, Ladakh Range, Kailash\nRange and Karakoram Range This range,'}, {'start': '310.240', 'end': '316.880', 'text': "apart from India, extends to today's Pakistan and China.\nAccording to altitude,"}, {'start': '316.880', 'end': '323.600', 'text': 'after the Greater Himalayan Range, the\nKarakoram Range can be called the highest range in the world.'}, {'start': '323.600', 'end': '330.000', 'text': "It has 4 peaks above 8000 meters\nand many of the world's largest non-polar"}, {'start': '330.000', 'end': '336.400', 'text': 'glaciers. Out of the 10 highest\npeaks of India, six are in the Karakoram Range'}, {'start': '336.400', 'end': '343.280', 'text': 'and this is the range on one part of which,\nunlike the rest of the world, the effect of climate change is'}, {'start': '343.280', 'end': '349.919', 'text': 'not apparently visible. The\nsize of many glaciers here, unlike in other'}, {'start': '349.919', 'end': '356.000', 'text': 'places of the world, is actually increasing a bit,\nbut why is it so? What is so special in this region?'}, {'start': '356.000', 'end': '361.440', 'text': 'In this mountain range,\nwe can actually divide the Karakoram Mountain Range into three main'}, {'start': '361.440', 'end': '365.280', 'text': 'parts and mainly the glaciers\nin its central and western parts are increasing in'}, {'start': '365.280', 'end': '371.440', 'text': 'size over the years.\nSo, if we'}, {'start': '371.440', 'end': '375.639', 'text': 'look from 1990, the glaciers in the central part of Karakoram have decreased by'}, {'start': '375.639', 'end': '382.560', 'text': "0.65% and in the eastern part by 1.26%.  are bigger,\nwhereas in comparison, India's"}, {'start': '382.560', 'end': '389.120', 'text': 'second largest glacier, Gangotri, which is about\n30 km long, has gone back by about 1.5% in these 30 years.'}, {'start': '389.120', 'end': '395.520', 'text': 'Now the estimates of their volume loss and\ngain are very wide depending'}, {'start': '395.520', 'end': '402.000', 'text': 'upon the source and uses. However, it gives us\nsome idea of \u200b\u200bthe anomaly.'}, {'start': '402.000', 'end': '408.319', 'text': 'Why is this happening? After extensive research,\ngeologists and orologists give three reasons for this.'}, {'start': '408.319', 'end': '412.960', 'text': 'One is the extreme relief of this mountain range.\nRelief in mountains is'}, {'start': '412.960', 'end': '418.560', 'text': "the vertical distance between the mountains'\nhighest and lowest points in that area. So"}, {'start': '418.560', 'end': '424.720', 'text': 'even though the Greater Himalayan Range has 10\npeaks higher than 8,000 metres versus four in the'}, {'start': '424.720', 'end': '430.319', 'text': 'Karakoram Mountains, the average altitude\nand topographic relief of the Karakoram'}, {'start': '430.319', 'end': '436.400', 'text': 'Mountains is higher than the Greater Himalayan Range.\nAnd this gives rise to two reasons which'}, {'start': '436.400', 'end': '441.280', 'text': 'contribute towards the\nincreasing glacier size. One is higher'}, {'start': '441.280', 'end': '447.039', 'text': 'relief and relatively more\nDue to the latitude, these Karakoram mountains'}, {'start': '447.039', 'end': '452.960', 'text': 'cast long shadows on the glaciated valleys, due to which\nthese glaciers are'}, {'start': '452.960', 'end': '459.199', 'text': 'less exposed to the heat of the sun. Secondly, due to this extreme\nrelief and steep slopes, the'}, {'start': '459.199', 'end': '465.120', 'text': 'erosion process is also higher on these mountains,\nleading to significant debris which gets'}, {'start': '465.120', 'end': '471.440', 'text': 'deposited on these glaciers, again\nprotecting them from the sunlight. And thirdly,'}, {'start': '471.440', 'end': '477.360', 'text': 'a localized climate, which some\nresearchers also call summer vortex, has been found here, which'}, {'start': '477.360', 'end': '482.800', 'text': 'induces an anomaly cooling\neffect in summers with these mountains,'}, {'start': '482.800', 'end': '488.960', 'text': 'again protecting the glaciers from\nexcessive melting. All these factors together make the'}, {'start': '488.960', 'end': '493.280', 'text': 'glaciers of this region an anomaly against the glaciers\nshrinking due to global warming across the world.'}, {'start': '493.280', 'end': '499.039', 'text': 'And you can watch the journey of this special region in'}, {'start': '499.039', 'end': '502.000', 'text': 'this video next'}]