Extreme weather disasters like the last year’s devastating flash floods in Ladakh will become more common due to the climate change making an “early warning system along with an integrated disaster management plan” essential for a hill state like Himachal to effectively combat such undesirable impacts.

This was the main thrust of experts at the brainstorming session organised by the state council of science and technology in collaboration with the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to finalise the action plan to deal with the climate change, here today.

Hundreds of precious lives would have been saved if the people had been warned in time about the impending disaster which caught them unawares. The ecologically fragile high-altitude areas of the state are as vulnerable as Ladakh and all possible preventive measures should be incorporated in the plan to mitigate the impact.

The experts also recommended that a disaster management plan should also be integrated into the action plan to ensure prompt response in case of such environment-related events. The district-level environment plans being prepared by the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry should be dovetailed with the state environment management plan.

Environmental-sensitive areas like Rohtang Pass, Great Himalayan National Parks should be identified and included in the list of hot spots for special focus from the point of view of management. Extensive research and studies should be undertaken to assess the impact of climate change to generate authentic environment-related data, particularly with regard to the status of glaciers and shifting of vegetation, the main indicators of the climate change to work out the required adaptation strategies.

Director of Environment Nagin Nanda said the government had already given approval for setting up a state centre for climate change which would be the nodal institution for all activities relating to climate change. The member secretary of the state council for science and technology would be the director of the centre which would coordinate climate change-related research and studies to be carried out through various universities and scientific institutions.

A number of research papers were presented by the scientists from the SASE (Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment), GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry and other institutions.