Dr Sanjeeb Bharali of forestry department in the North

Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST) warned that climate change will not only threaten the biodiversity, but also affect the socio-economic condition of the people as about 62 per cent of the total working population is engaged in agriculture. "If we go by what the people are saying then there has been a shift in agriculture calendar as a result. Productivity has been affected while new pests are being reported," he said. Changes in temperature can also result in increase in vector-born diseases like Kalajar, Malaria, dengue, etc, he warned. Climate of this north-eastern state is influenced greatly by the Himalayan mountains and large variations in altitude across the state. As a result of a permutation and combination of various climatic factors like temperature, rainfall and slope angle, the spread of snow and ice on the peaks of Arunachal Himalayas has already started changing. Kesang Goiba, village headman (Gaon Bura) of the remote Mechuka valley in West Siang district, recalls that a couple of decades ago snowfall was very regular and went upto 2-3 feet in height. "Now it is hardly a few inches of snowfall and that too irregular," he said. Locals in the state capital say that even the upper regions of Itanagar used to experience snowfall few decades ago. The Himalayas has the world's second largest coverage of glaciers and permanent snowfields after the polar region. Scientists say that since snow and glacier melt water are important source of many rivers originating in the Himalayas, monitoring the snow-cover changes is essential to assess the future hydrologic cycle.