| MUMBAI:
On the occasion of World Environment Day CNN-IBN, India’s No.1 English News
Channel brings for its viewers a special programme, ‘At Melting Point’
a path breaking scientific investigative show on CNN-IBN. It is the first ever
documentation by a news channel on the fast melting Gangotri Glacier. The show
will reveal few alarming facts that clearly confirm the melting of Gangotri Glacier
due to global warming. The show goes on-air on Friday, June 5th, at 8:30PM and
11:30PM with a repeat telecast at 11:30AM and 9:30PM on June 7th, Sunday. Could
the glaciers really be melting? To find out the reality, the team led by Ms. Bahar
Dutt, Environment Editor, CNN-IBN undertook a scientific expedition travelling
all the way upto 13000 feet to the source of the Ganga at Gaumukh with a team
of scientists and a glaciologist. The scientist’s team installed weather
instruments to measure the impact of global warming on the glacier. The research
clearly shows how the glacier has retreated at 2km further inwards in last 180
years at an alarming speed of 17-20 Meters/Year. The
satellite image clearly shows the shift in the location of the glaciers since
1937 retreating the point that 450 glaciers across the Himalayas are melting fast.
These glaciers have reduced in their area from 2000 sq kms to 1600 sq kms- ie
a reduction of 21%. Glaciers like the Kafni in Himachal are shrinking at an alarming
rate of 20 metres year. Melting of these glaciers has led to drastic climatic
changes like rise in temperature, decrease in snowfall amongst many others. Mr.
Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network said “The threat of global
warming is showing its effects thick and fast. The melting of Gangotri glaciers
is affecting the weather cycle and patterns in the Asian continent and rigid steps
will have to be taken soon to restrict further damage. At Melting Point is an
attempt to make the citizens aware of the bigger environmental threat facing them.”
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