DEHRADUN: Conditions in high Himalayas are likely to be warmer than estimated, scientists at G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development in Almora have found. In a study published in the International Society for Tropical Ecology, scientists found that the Temperature Lapse Rate (change in temperature with altitude) in the Himalayas is 0.53 degrees Celsius, a value much lower than the previously held 0.65 degrees, as one moves every100 metres upwards. This means that the temperature in higher ranges would be warmer than estimated, said scientists who surveyed the mountain range from Kashmir to Sikkim to establish the Temperature Lapse Rate (TLR) in Himalayas.Researchers also said that the low TLR reported in the study could be a consequence of climate change.“According to past scientific studies, the TLR value in Himalayas was predicted at 0.65 degrees per 100 metres rise. But our two-year extensive study across Himalayas found that the TLR in Himalayas is 0.53 per 100 metres,” said Rajesh Joshi, one of the authors of the studySurender Pratap Singh, fellow, Indian National Science Academy , New Delhi, and one of the study authors, added, “Our study shows that temperatures can be high in high elevation areas. One reason could be climate change which has led to temperature rise in higher elevations. This would also affect the treeline — the mountain zone after which trees stop growing.”A study earlier this year had found that global warming was not causing the tree line to advance upslope. The research conducted under the National Mission for Himalayan Studies implemented by the ministry of environment, forest & climate change had found that with increase in global temperatures, tree lines were not shifting to higher elevations. Researchers said that one reason could be that warmer temperatures were leading to drier conditions which negatively affected seed survival.A few other studies have also found that response of tree lines to observed climate warming has been mixed. A study conducted in 2009 by Melanie Harsch from Lincoln University in New Zealand analysed a global dataset of 166 sites for which tree line dynamics had been recorded since 1900 AD. It found that 47% of the tree lines did not show any elevational shift while 52% advanced to higher elevations. Another study published in December 2016 in the journal Global Change Biology found that two subalpine tree species of western North America were not moving to higher elevations as temperatures rise. The study found that warming decreased the young trees’ odds of survival.

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