The Himalayas are not only the pride of India, among the world’s most beautiful countries ever, but an emblem of soaring natural beauty to the rest of the world.
It’s just not possible to fathom as to how many travel each year, month after month, time after time, to experience the splendour that is the enthralling beauty of the Himalayas.
But guess what? There’s a piece of news that may just spoil your mood, or dampen one’s spirits in connection with the lofty peaks.
Apparently, the Himalayas, that were anyways experiencing a deteriorating condition since a while might have to put up with a heartache. It’s one that shall affect those who’ve grown up admiring their grandeur and those who understand the importance to natural landscapes and what becomes of the earth in their absence.
This is not even some weird breaking news of sorts, albeit one that needs maybe greater attention than given to other ‘news items’ that we can do without.
The Himalayas have been caught up in a big loop of problems, exacerbated by:
Mankind’s failure to realise the more it eats up on the ecology thanks to ceaseless greed- in the name of ‘development’- the bigger the collective failure for all life-forms.
The lack of understanding or awareness about climate change, and must one say, our collective failure to see it as the dominant evil, for which, somewhere we ourselves are to be blamed.
Having said that, despite being in that age of the 21st century where there’s information overload, there persists ignorance about the state of the Himalayas; about their shrinking in length each passing year.
The climate is changing, becoming worse than ever, and is ‘warming’ as a result of pollution and all the ravages we’re responsible for.
As a result of this, the seemingly undaunted mountainous ranges- The Himalayas- have begun to spiral downwards.
It appears that soon, the mega summits shall experience a string of earthquakes, not just one or two, in isolation.
Now, if the following doesn’t bother you- then don’t bother reading further or showing off about the iconic Himalayan ranges when speaking about the Indian sub-continent:
The entire Himalayan arc is poised to produce a sequence of great earthquakes, and the next big quake — of the magnitude of- 8 or above may occur during our lifetimes, according to a study that was conducted on covering geophysical, geological and historical data.
According to a review, which appeared in the journal Seismological Research Letters, in August, there appear some ‘shattering’ news; studies that used basic geological principles- stratigraphic analysis, structural analysis, and radiocarbon analysis- to estimate the size and timing of prehistoric earthquakes. It also helped evaluate the future risk pertaining to the Himalayas.
Honestly, one wonders, if this piece of news still does not strike a fresh wave of concern, then what ever will?
Those who are ecologists, environmentalists, trekkers, nature lovers or plain lovers of the great outdoor may still be believing in a state of shock.
Himalayas that attract countless tourists from the furthest corners of the world- but what is to become of a situation where nothing’s done in a timely manner to correct this dispiriting news?
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Now one wonders, whether the powers that be can actually intervene? If now’s not the right time to save the mighty Himalayas, then what is; and where does one even begin to take remedial actions?