Environmental experts suggest troop reduction as Siachen Glacier melts

Pakistani environmentalists have cautioned the military against the presence of troops in Siachen, citing the gradual melting of the glacier.

Karachi, July 18 : Pakistani environmentalists have cautioned the military against the presence of troops in Siachen, citing the gradual melting of the glacier.

They argue that military presence on the glacier must be minimised if not totally demilitarised.

According to them, the slow melting of the Siachen glacier has contributed in the recent storms in Sindh and Balochistan, and the cyclone Yemyin.

"Melting has increased significantly in the case of the Siachen glacier," the Dawn quoted Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director-General Qamaruzzaman Chaudhry, as saying.

He further said that these occurrences cannot be "directly linked with the melting of glacial ice."

A PMD consultant, Arshad Abbassi, said, "Rising sea levels and the rate of evaporation is definitely increasing. This is directly related to the melting of the Siachen glacier, which led to these abnormalities in the weather patterns."

However, Safia Shafiq, an expert on environmental impact assessment and climate change, said: "Melting of a single glacier does not augment the sea level to rise to such a dangerous extent that it brings about such storms and cyclones."

ANI