India is planning a major initiative to study the impact of the Polar regions on the Indian monsoon which forms the backbone of the Indian economy.
Dr Shailesh Nayak, secretary in the ministry of earth sciences, pointed out that this initiative was being planned along with ten other nations, including France, with the study being undertaken on a decadel level.
A parallel study is being undertaken to study the origin of the Himalayas and its impact on the monsoon. “Himalayas is a young mountain range 50-60 million years and it is still rising….. this also impacts the monsoon because when there were no Himalayas, there was no monsoon,” said Nayak. Studies highlight the rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice and it was important to know how this would impact the monsoon. The Arctic Ocean and the surrounding regions of the North Pole are one of the most important areas to govern the earth’s climate as also to record its past climatic history. “This region is an harbinger of future change because the signals or clues that signify climate change are so much stronger in the Arctic than elsewhere in the planet,” said Nayak. “Rising temperature will change air circulation patterns as also result in rising sea levels,” the secretary explained.
India already has a permanent research station Himadri located on the North Pole.