IPCC admits 'Himalayan' blunder

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has admitted that a claim made in the 2007 report headed by R K Pachauri — that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035 — was unfounded and unsubstantiated.

“The clear and well-established standards of evidence, required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly,” said IPCC in a statement on its website today.

IPCC said it regretted “the poor application of well-established IPCC procedures in this instance”.

Meanwhile, leading glaciologist and senior fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute, Syed Iqbal Hasnain, who was quoted in New Scientist as saying Himalayan glaciers were likely to disappear by 2035, defended himself in another statement.

Hasnain also said that technology had improved in recent years and results could be better. “Now, we have more sophisticated and accurate instruments and techniques, as compared to those 10 years back. So, precision has increased and the new results are coming out,” he added.

IPCC said the broader assessment remained correct that warming of the earth would lead to widespread losses from the glaciers. The concluding document of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report stated: “Climate change is expected to exacerbate current stresses on water resources from population growth and economic and land-use change, including urbanisation”.