The Himalayan glaciers which are the lifeline for a sizable population — in India, Nepal and China are melting at an alarming rate. Two billion people in the basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, which depend on the Himalayan glaciers for their water supply, face acute water shortages ahead. The Ganges alone covers an area of over a million square km and serves a population of over 407 million; the Brahmaputra river covers an area of 940,000 sq km with a population of over 118 million; and the Indus river covers an area of over 1.2 million sq km with over 178 million people. Some 700 million people depend on water from the holy rivers
The Himalayan ice capped mountains are not exclusive to India. It spreads over countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and China. Himalayas in the Indian context hold much importance from the historical and cultural point of view as much as it does from climate change stand point. Any Indian’s first interaction with the Himalayas starts in grade three or four (elementary education). Students are taught how Himalayas for millions of years have been the dwelling of many an Indian Gods, how they have been saving the country from cold winds blowing from the north and how the same mountain ranges have been resisting the attacks from foreign invaders for thousands of years. And in this sense, the issues related to the Himalayan mountain ranges have become an integral part of our history in India, though not all the constituting states/provinces in India are directly connected to or influenced by the
Himalayan mountains.