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The Ganga is facing a major threat of becoming a “seasonal river” that would carry water only during the rainy season, warns American environmentalist of international fame Lester R. Brown. He says the way Indian glaciers are melting because of climate change, the Ganga may turn into a “mausmi nadi’’ before the turn of the century.

Interacting with The Tribune from Washington, Brown said the Himalayan glaciers are receding rapidly and many could melt entirely by 2035. The Ganga is at risk because of the fast-melting Gangotri glacier, which feeds it, in Uttarakhand.

“Such an eventuality poses a serious threat to food production in the entire northern belt. It would also endanger the sacred status of the Ganga,” he said.

Brown is president of an American NGO, Earth Policy Institute, which provides a global roadmap for a sustainable future.

Recently, he visited India to launch the Hindi version of his new book, “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.” Interestingly, his career started with tomato farming.

In his opinion, “We need not go beyond ice-melting to see that civilisation is in trouble. Business-as-usual is no longer a viable option.’’ The four goals of “Plan B 3.0” are to stabilise climate, stabilise population, eradicate poverty and restore the earth’s damaged ecosystems.

“If the giant Gangotri glacier that supplies 70 per cent of the water to the Ganga during the dry season disappears, the river could become seasonal and carry no water in summers when irrigation needs are the greatest,’’ said Brown adding that the intergovernmental panel on climate change was also of the same opinion. Ganga also supplies drinking water to 407 million people.

A recent study carried out by India’s department of science and technology has found that the Gangotri glacier is shrinking at a pace of 17 metres per year due to global warming and subsequent climate change. Its mammoth neighbour, the Pindari glacier, is also reportedly melting at a speed of about 9.5 metres a year.

Gangotri glacier is one of the largest glacier systems in the Himalayas and the source of Bhagirathi river, one of the major tributaries of the Ganga.

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