On 19th December 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changes (MoEFCC) issued a Press Release headlined “Black Carbon”. The Press Release is in reference to the study of Himalayan Glaciers, which is a complex and evolving subject that is studied through investigations, data collection and analysis of various research studies by scientists in India and globally. The glaciers and their characteristics exhibit complex changes in specific across specific locations across different sub-regions of the Himalayas.
There are stable, retreating, or even advancing glaciers in the Himalayas, which emphasises the complex geographical and cyclical nature of the glacial dynamics. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is currently operating a network of aerosol observatories under the “ISRO Geosphere-Biosphere Programme”. One of the essential parameters being measured from this network is ‘black carbon mass concentration’. The long-term measurements of black carbon over the Indian Region from the previously mentioned regional network of aerosol observations clearly showcase a decreasing trend (0.24 μg m-3year-1) over the past decade.