How do Himalayan areas respond to global warming?

Abstract

ABSTRACT:We study the interdecadal-scale variability over the Himalayas/Tibetan Plateau (H/TP) to deepen the understanding of Earth's important ecosystem after the recent controversy about glaciers melting in the Himalayan Mountains. We present a new statistical reconstruction of annual temperature variability back to 1901 for the Pyramid Automated Weather Station of the Ev-K2-CNR Committee, located at the base of the Mount Everest. Our reconstruction using recorded weather station data compared with the Climate Research Unit temperature pattern data indicate that in recent decades the warming trend over the H/TP has been faster than during any equivalent period in the last century. Positive temperature anomalies (mostly observed after 1970) were found to be correlated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacifical Decadal Oscillation indices, but unevenly correlated with the Northern Hemisphere (NH) land-surface temperature. Such decoupled response between H/TP and NH suggests the mechanisms of global warming are only marginally influencing the H/TP climate.

A comparative high-altitude meteorological analysis from three catchments in the Nepalese Himalaya

“…The transition between the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, passing from cloudy, rainy and warm to clear, dry and cold, takes no more than a few days. Consequently, changes in future monsoon onset, duration and intensity (Turner & Annamalai, 2012) will have significant impacts on glacier melt and accumulation processes (Diodato, Bellocchi, & Tartari, 2012).…”

“…A summary of selected high-elevation automatic weather stations (AWS) in the HKH region, with elevation (Z) and on-or off-glacier designation, station type (A ¼ year-round, S ¼ seasonal/temporary), and type of observations: T ¼ temperature, RH ¼ relative humidity, P ¼ precipitation, u ¼ wind speed, u ¼ wind direction, K # ¼ downwelling short-wave radiation, L # ¼ downwelling long-wave radiation, p ¼ atmospheric pressure. Sources: Ageta, Ohata, Tanaka, Ikegami, and Higuchi (1980); Bollasina, Bertolani, and Tartari (2002); Diodato et al (2012);Higuchi (1977); Higuchi, Ageta, Yasunari, and Inoue (1982); Mihalcea et al (2006); Mölg et al (2012); Moore and Semple (2004);Takeuchi (2000); Wagnon et al (2013);Yang, He, Tang, Qin, and Cheng (2010); Zhang et al (2013).…”

Assessment of the performance of CORDEX-SA experiments in simulating seasonal mean temperature over the Himalayan region for the present climate: Part I

“…In another study, 1.6 °C warming in the last century is reported over north-western Himalayan region by Bhutiyani et al (2007). In a recent study based on Climatic Research Unit's reconstructed temperature dataset it was found that the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau have warmed at a higher rate in the last few decades than that in the last century (Diodato et al 2012). Dash et al (2007) reported that western Himalayas warmed by over 0.9 °C during 1901-2003. Season specific responses to warming is also reported over the Himalayans.…”

Climate Change and Dynamics of Glaciers and Vegetation in the Himalaya: An Overview

“…IPCC 2013 ). At higher elevations, temperature has been increasing at a rate of up to 1.2 °C per decade since about 1980 (Shrestha et al 1999 ;Liu et al 2006Liu et al , 2009Bhutiyani et al 2007Bhutiyani et al , 2010Shrestha and Aryal 2011 ;Yang et al 2011 ), with an accelerating warming trend in the past two decades (Diodato et al 2011 ;Kattel and Yao 2013 ;Gerlitz et al 2014 ;Hasson et al 2015 ).…”