Editing Ganges (section)

=== Effects of climate change ===
The [[Tibetan Plateau]] contains the world's third-largest store of ice. Qin Dahe, the former head of the China Meteorological Administration, said that the recent fast pace of melting and warmer temperatures will be good for agriculture and tourism in the short term; but issued a strong warning:

{{blockquote|Temperatures are rising four times faster than elsewhere in China, and the Tibetan glaciers are retreating at a higher speed than in any other part of the world.&nbsp;... In the short term, this will cause lakes to expand and bring floods and mudflows&nbsp;... In the long run, the glaciers are vital lifelines for Asian rivers, including the Indus and the Ganges. Once they vanish, water supplies in those regions will be in peril.<ref>{{cite web|author=AFP  |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g1eE4Xw3njaW1MKpJRYOch4hOdLQ |title=Global warming benefits to Tibet: Chinese official|date=17 August 2009 |access-date=28 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123192540/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g1eE4Xw3njaW1MKpJRYOch4hOdLQ |archive-date=23 January 2010 }}</ref>}}

In 2007, the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC), in its Fourth Report, stated that the Himalayan glaciers which feed the river were at risk of melting by 2035.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR4/website/10.pdf |title=See s. 10.6 of the WGII part of the report at |access-date=28 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124044114/http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR4/website/10.pdf |archive-date=24 November 2010}}</ref> The IPCC has now withdrawn that prediction, as the original source admitted that it was speculative and the cited source was not a peer-reviewed finding.{{efn|1= The IPCC report is based on a non-peer-reviewed work by the World Wildlife Federation. They, in turn, drew their information from an interview conducted by ''New Scientist'' with Hasnain, an Indian glaciologist, who admitted that the view was speculative. See: {{cite journal
| url         = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527432.800-sifting-climate-facts-from-speculation.html
| title       = Sifting climate facts from speculation
| date        = 13 January 2010
| journal=New Scientist
}} and {{cite news
| url         = http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/pachauri-calls-indian-govt-report-on-melting-himalayan-glaciers-as-voodoo-science_100301232.html
| title         = Pachauri calls Indian govt. report on melting Himalayan glaciers as 'voodoo science'
| date         = 9 January 2010
| publisher         = Thaindian News
| access-date         = 20 January 2010
| archive-date         = 28 January 2010
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20100128104205/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/pachauri-calls-indian-govt-report-on-melting-himalayan-glaciers-as-voodoo-science_100301232.html
| url-status         = dead
}} On the IPCC statement withdrawing the finding, see: {{cite news
| url         = http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/presentations/himalaya-statement-20january2010.pdf
| title         = IPCC statement on the melting of Himalayan glaciers
| date         = 20 January 2010
| publisher         = IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
| access-date         = 20 January 2010
| archive-date         = 15 February 2010
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20100215024454/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/presentations/himalaya-statement-20january2010.pdf
| url-status         = dead
}}
----}} In its statement, the IPCC stands by its general findings relating to the Himalayan glaciers being at risk from global warming (with consequent risks to water flow into the Gangetic basin). Many studies have suggested that [[climate change]] will affect the water resources in the Ganges river basin including increased summer (monsoon) flow, and peak runoff could result in an increased risk of flooding.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Impact of climate change on the hydrological regime of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins: a review of the literature|first1=Santosh|last1=Nepal|first2=Arun Bhakta|last2=Shrestha|date=3 April 2015|journal=International Journal of Water Resources Development|volume=31|issue=2|pages=201–218|doi=10.1080/07900627.2015.1030494|bibcode=2015IJWRD..31..201N |doi-access=free}}</ref>