No significant decrease in glaciers in Sikkim: Climate expert

"There will be no decrease in accumulation of snow/ice reserves in the glaciers of Sikkim in any foreseeable future," Milap Chand Sharma, member of Sikkim Glacier Commission, said.
Sikkim gets precipitation round the year from the south west monsoons, winter rains and Mediterranean westerlies due to its advantageous location in the eastern Himalayas. At higher altitudes the precipitation is in the form of snow, he said.
"This always caters to better input for the glaciers compared to the Western Himalayas," Sharma, who carried out an extensive study of the glaciers in the state, said.
Even Zemu glacier, the largest in Sikkim, has retreated by only five to seven meters since 1977 despite its surface thinning, he said.
The condition of glaciers depended on factors beyond climate change and global warming like morphology of valley, its shape, size and slope, he said.
While there have been a number of glaciers which have retreated during the past several years, there have been other glaciers which have advanced during the same period.