Seminar on climate change: Continuous observations stressed to cope with glacier-related hazards

PESHAWAR: The experts at a seminar on Tuesday called for continuous ground-based observations to cope with glacier-related hazards.

The National Centre of Excellence in Geology -day seminar on “climate change impacts on glaciers in Pakistan: challenges and opportunities.”

According to a press release, Dr Sher Muhammad was the key note speaker who is a remote sensing specialist (cryosphere monitoring lead) at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal.

He explained that glacier changes in the upper Indus Basin have been observed through precise GPS measurement and using satellite remote sensing data including ice, cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER), Land Satellite (Landsat), Sentinel, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiameter (MODIS) and open source and commercial tools.

He pointed out that the concept of Karakoram anomaly was slightly changing because the glaciers there were slightly losing mass rather than gaining.

He emphasised on Continuous ground-based glacier observations to cope with glacier-related hazards and manage water resources for various applications including agriculture, hydropower, and households.

He added that glacier monitoring by high-resolution remote sensing images, digital elevation models and radar data are equally important for precise glacier monitoring. “Continuous glacier changes and observations should be coordinated with stakeholders and decision makers for water availability and vulnerability to glacier related hazards,” he added.