ABSTRACT
Both the AR4 and AR5 of the IPCC highlighted that South Asian countries are facing the risk of several climate change effects, like the melting of glaciers of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) region which can have devastating effects such as, owing to the rate of sea level rise, the coastal areas of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are expected to be flooded on an annual basis, likely leading to large-scale migration; the frequent number of GLOFs has resulted to the increasing rise and volumetric flow rate of the most important rivers of Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, affecting lives and the power supply and destroying infrastructure; the rising temperature leads to increases in heatstroke, respiratory diseases, and high mortality rates, particularly among the rural poor and outdoor labourers; water constraints may impact food security, human settlements, and other related sectors, etc.
