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High-altitude meteorology of Indian Himalayan Region: complexities, effects, and resolutions

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Abstract

The Himalaya, by virtue of its location and stupendous height, acts as a great climatic divide and regulates meteorological conditions in the subcontinent regions of South Asia. However, the associated complexities and their effects are yet to be resolved to understand the meteorology of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). In this review volume, we synthesize the results and inferences of several studies carried out in the IHR using in situ data, remotely sensed data, and model-based meteorological observations. Results provide insights into climate change, scientific gaps, and their causes in deciphering meteorological observations from the last century to recent decades and envisage impacts of climate change on water reservoirs in the future. Warming trend of air temperature, in contrast to global temperature, has been projected in recent decades (after 1990) with a greater warming rate in the maximum temperature than the minimum temperature. This drifting of air temperature from the beginning of last century accelerates the diurnal temperature range of the Himalayas. An elevation-dependent warming trend is mostly perceived in the northwest Himalayan region, implicating an increased warming rate in the Greater Himalaya as compared to the lower and Karakoram Himalaya. No definite trends of precipitation have been observed over different regions of the IHR, suggesting heterogeneous cryosphere-climate interaction between western and central Himalaya. In this review, we have tried to emphasize to the scientific community and policy-makers for enhancing the knowledge of physical and dynamical processes associated with meteorological parameters in the Himalayan terrain.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their deep sense of gratitude to the Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, for providing all necessary facilities and logistic support during the entire period of this study. We are thankful to Dr. Koushik Sen (WIHG) and Ajit Yadav for improving the grammar. This has the WIHG contribution No. WIHG /0095.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33, GMS Road, Dehradun, 248001, Uttarakhand, India

    Jairam Singh Yadav, Sameer K. Tiwari & Santosh K. Rai

  2. Department of Geology, Kumaun University, Nainital, 263001, Uttarakhand, India

    Anshuman Misra

  3. Geological Survey of India, Hyderabad, 500068, India

    Ravi K. Yadav

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  1. Jairam Singh Yadav
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  2. Sameer K. Tiwari
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Correspondence to Jairam Singh Yadav.

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Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K., Misra, A. et al. High-altitude meteorology of Indian Himalayan Region: complexities, effects, and resolutions. Environ Monit Assess 193, 654 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09418-y

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