Uttarakhand faces earthquake risk as tectonic stress builds up
According to Dr. Vineet Gahlot, Director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), the Himalayas are constantly shifting due to north-south tectonic movement. While plates typically move about 40 millimetres each year, this specific stretch moves much slower — only 14 to 20 millimetres per year.
"This movement discrepancy, where a section is 'locked' or moving slower than surrounding areas, causes immense crustal stress. Similar conditions in Nepal historically culminated in major seismic events," said Dr. Gahlot.
GPS tracking across the region has confirmed that many areas are moving much slower than normal, with some as low as 14 millimetres annually. This slower movement indicates the land is shrinking, a clear sign of dangerous tectonic stress building up.
Dr. R.J. Perumal, a senior scientist at WIHG, shared the results of his study on this phenomenon. He pointed out that an 80-kilometre stretch between Munsyari and Mohand in Dehradun is moving just 20 millimetres annually. In this area, four major fault lines lie deep underground, at angles between 70 to 80 degrees.
"Seismic energy is continuously accumulating deep within the earth's crust, unreleased," he warned. He added that while some fault lines have gentler angles — around 40 to 45 degrees — and allow plates to move more freely at the usual 40 millimetres annually, the steep angles in the locked areas are likely causing the dangerous energy build-up.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Kishtwar Himalayas an important snow leopard habitat, flags survey
New Delhi: A three-year camera trapping study has confirmed year-round presence and breeding activity of snow leopards in Jammu & Kashmir, especially the significance of Kishtwar Himalayas that provide an important habitat for snow leopards and several other threatened mammals. The survey suggests year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population. Conducted between 2022 and 2025 across the Kishtwar Himalayas, the survey was launched under the nationwide Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) protocol. While earlier years confirmed the presence of snow leopards in the UT in summer and autumn, for the first time, the 2024–25 phase brought new insights — recording snow leopards during winter months in both Paddar (Jammu division) and Zojila (Kashmir division). This suggests year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population, the survey said. The survey also documented 16 mammal species, including the rare Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf, common leopard, Kashmir musk deer, stone marten, pika, Asiatic ibex, and red fox. In some instances, both snow leopards and common leopards were detected at the same camera locations in Paddar, raising important questions about species interactions and the possible impact of climate change on range shifts, the authors said. 'We conducted systematic camera trapping across three sites in the Kishtwar landscape — Kishtwar HighAltitude National Park (KHANP), Paddar and Warwan. We detected a minimum of 12 individual snow leopards in 22 camera traps. Combining SECR estimates with raw counts from 2023, we estimate snow leopard numbers to be up to 20 adult individuals in our study area,' the report said. 'These findings reaffirm the importance of Jammu & Kashmir as a key snow leopard stronghold. It is time to treat the Kishtwar Himalayas not as isolated valleys, but as part of an interconnected conservation landscape,' said Shahid Hameed, Wildlife Research and Project Coordinator at NCF. 'Much of the credit must go to the continued commitment of the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department to conserve their high-altitude homes,' he added. With glacial melting in the Greater Himalayas occurring at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the planet, snow leopard habitat is severely threatened. This could potentially escalate the intensity and frequency of snow leopard and human interactions. Elaborate studies of human-snow leopard conflict, incorporating livestock-wild ungulate interactions and climate change, might also prove useful for snow leopard conservation, the study has flagged. The survey also included a landscape-level threat assessment based on interviews with over 300 households across Paddar, Warwan, Dacchan and Marwah. Livestock depredation and crop damage emerged as major challenges impacting the primary livelihood of the locals, with need for more context-specific mitigation strategies. These losses shape community attitudes towards wildlife and demand the need for conflict resolution interventions. HT reported on February 1, 2024, there are around 718 snow leopards in the country, the first ever population estimation exercise of the vulnerable species by the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program has found. During the assessment conducted from 2019 to 2023, a total of 241 unique Snow leopards were photographed. Based on the analysis, Ladakh has the highest estimated population of the animal (477) followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Code Green
It was burning bright. For three months, a four-year-old tiger roamed across 12 villages in Lucknow's Rehmankheda area, killing 25 animals and keeping residents on edge in the forest of the night. Daily life slowed as people stayed indoors, wary of the elusive predator that was a ghost with stripes. To track it down, forest officials took a blended approach—mixing traditional tracking methods with modern technology. They installed AI-powered thermal cameras at five key points and deployed three thermal drones to scan the forest canopy. On the ground, trained elephants Diana and Sulochana moved through dense undergrowth where vehicles couldn't go. Meanwhile, a wildlife expert in Bengaluru monitored live camera feeds, studying the tiger's patterns to anticipate its movements. In March, came the breakthrough. AI cameras captured the tiger returning to a fresh kill. A ranger team was dispatched. A tranquiliser dart was fired, but the tiger fled, covering 500 metres before disappearing into thick foliage. Drones followed it from above, helping rangers close in for a second shot. Within 15 minutes, the animal was safely sedated. The 230 kg beast was then caged and transported to the Bakshi Ka Talab range office. The entire operation ended without a single human injury, thanks to the combined effort of AI surveillance, aerial tracking, and coordinated fieldwork. In the past, conserving wildlife in India often meant navigating dense jungles with binoculars, spending months waiting for elusive animals to appear, or diving into the sea with nothing more than a net. Today, conservationists are adding something new to their toolkit: algorithms, thermal cameras, drones, and even genetic samplers. From the cold, high-altitude deserts of Ladakh to the lush mangroves of the Sundarbans, across coral reefs, tiger corridors, and railway tracks, a quiet revolution is unfolding. Technology is changing not only how we protect wildlife, but how we understand it. In Ladakh, where the air is thin and snow leopards are more myth than mammal to most, a team of researchers set out to count the uncountable. 'Tough terrain and a lack of transport facilities were major challenges,' recalls Pankaj Raina from the Department of Wildlife Protection, Leh. 'We carried rations and equipment on ponies and set up temporary camps at subzero temperatures. Some places can only be accessed in winter, when the streams freeze. So, we'd place cameras one winter and return the next to collect them.' Over two years, they trekked more than 6,000 km and installed 956 camera traps across India's largest snow leopard habitat. But their real challenge began only after they returned with nearly half a million images. No human team could sort through that volume of footage manually. So they turned to AI. A system called CaTRAT, trained to recognise Himalayan wildlife, scanned each frame to identify species. But something more precise was required. A second programme was deployed, this one trained to analyse forehead patterns, which are more reliable. 'Only the clearest image from each sequence was used,' explains Raina. 'These were digitised and processed through AI software that scored pattern similarities, creating a photographic library of each individual snow leopard.' The study, published in PLOS One earlier this year, revealed a hopeful truth: snow leopards in Ladakh are thriving. And for the first time, India now has a national photo library of snow leopards—a visual archive that will enable researchers to monitor individual animals. Far to the south, in the forested corridor between Walayar and Madukkarai in Tamil Nadu, a different crisis was unfolding. Since 2008, 11 elephants had died in train collisions along a single seven-km-stretch of track. In 2024, the Coimbatore Forest Division responded by installing an AI-powered thermal surveillance system. The setup involved cameras that detect heat signatures in real-time, capable of spotting large mammals even in pitch darkness or heavy rain. The moment an elephant is detected near the tracks, the system sends instant alerts to train operators and forest teams. In its very first year, the system generated over 5,000 alerts, enabled 2,500 safe elephant crossings—and recorded zero elephant deaths. Technology is also transforming how humans coexist with big cats. In Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, AI-enabled cameras were installed on the edges of 13 villages starting in 2023. These motion-sensitive devices don't just record tiger activity—they analyse it, sending real-time alerts to villagers when tigers are nearby. The system has worked so well that it caught the attention of Prime Minister Modi, who mentioned the effort during the 110th episode of Mann Ki Baat.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Study calls for urgent conservation of Doon Valley rivers to check flood risks
Dehradun: The Suswa watershed in Doon Valley, which covers 310.9 sq km and forms part of the Song basin, requires urgent conservation to check soil erosion and promote sustainable land use, a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Water has revealed. The Asan watershed, spanning 701.1 sq km with a westward flow, and the Song watershed, covering 1,040.5 sq km with an eastward flow, are the two key watersheds in the valley. The study titled 'Watershed Prioritisation with Respect to Flood Susceptibility in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) Using Geospatial Techniques for Sustainable Water Resource Management', compared the valley's watersheds and found sharp differences in drainage patterns and erosion risks. It flagged the Suswa watershed, that runs through Dehradun's urban centre, including IT Park, Raipur, Kanwali Road and Dudhli, as the most at risk. The study was carried out by a team of researchers, scientists and professors from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and Amity University. They used a "Compound Factor Value" (CFV) method to assess the watershed vulnerability. This approach combines slope, drainage density and other terrain factors into a single index. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like A Day in the Life at Siemens Energy Siemens Energy Read Now Undo A lower CFV signals higher risk, meaning greater priority for conservation. "Among the selected watersheds, CFVs ranged from 1.75 to 2.17, and Suswa ranked highest priority (1.75) due to its high erosion susceptibility, and the Song watershed lowest priority (2.17)," the study stated. This monsoon, four people lost their lives in just two weeks in rain-related incidents in Dehradun. The Suswa river, passing through the city, is under additional stress from sewage discharge, solid waste dumping, and encroachments, said the researchers. They called for conservation measures including "vegetative buffers, improved drainage management, and stream restoration initiatives" to reduce risk. The Song watershed is also vulnerable to flash floods because of steep slopes and high stream frequency and the researchers recommended interventions such as afforestation, check dams and slope stabilisation. The Asan watershed, home to Uttarakhand's only Ramsar-designated wetland, was ranked medium priority. Though more stable, the researchers warned "it could become more susceptible if left unmanaged due to development pressures and climate change." They stressed the need for "wetland protection, demarcation of buffer zones, and upstream land use control" to safeguard water inflow and quality. The research, based on high-resolution satellite data, revealed clear differences in drainage and erosion risk across the valley. "Its most significant contribution is the combination of geospatial data and morphometric parameters to develop a tiered watershed management framework for a data-scarce Himalayan region," said the authors. Lead author Ashish Mani, senior researcher at WII, said, "Future efforts should focus on afforestation, soil conservation in high-risk areas, sustainable land-use planning, flood mitigation, community engagement, and long-term monitoring using remote sensing and GIS. These steps will ensure effective watershed management, minimise environmental degradation, and enhance resilience against erosion and flooding in the Himalayan region. " He added that the findings support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on clean water, climate action, and life on land. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Krishna Janmashtami Wishes ,, messages , and quotes !
