Is dust pollution speeding up melting of Himalayan glaciers?

Professor Ramesh Singh, was recently interviewed for an article that ran in the Times of India on August 5, 2013.  During his time as a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, Singh participated in extensive satellite data collection and analysis for the Himalayan region.  It is during this period when Singh noticed unusually high levels of atmospheric pollution in the region.

“The dust which is very common in the western parts of India almost every year (during April-June) reaches to the western parts of the Himalayas,” Singh said.

In addition to the dust pollution, black carbon from forest fires in the region has been known to contribute to the warming of the troposphere and the Himalayan glaciers.  The International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) hopes to find out the impact of both dust and black carbon on the Himalayan glaciers and snow.  The IACS has asked for Professor Singh’s assistance in setting up a working study group for this issue as well as a detailed proposal on what the study group’s objectives will be.

Read the original article at the Times of India website.