Two sides of the Joshimath problem, one is massive infrastructure development, the other is climate change

Anjal Prakash, one of the authors of the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said there are two sides to the Joshimath problem. The first is massive infrastructure development, which is happening in a very fragile ecosystem like the Himalayas, without any planning process, where we are able to protect the environment. The flip side, he said, is climate change. The effects of climate change are visible in some hilly states of India. For example, 2021 and 2022 have been disaster years for Uttarakhand. Prakash said, we have to first understand that these areas are very fragile and small changes or disturbances in the ecosystem will lead to severe disasters, which we are seeing in Joshimath.

2022