The great Himalayas are a range containing snow-capped peaks; however, these are melting at a rapid rate due to global warming and climate change. So far, this has already resulted in floods, landslides and other natural disasters.

Global Adverse Manifestation’ has been created to the maximum extent of catastrophic and humongous disasters throughout India, and it is ‘manmade’, which is unfortunate. Similarly, all other greenhouse gas emissions are generated in excess by the floccinaucinihilipilification activities of Homo sapiens causing humongous disasters. If we conduct a detailed study, most of these disasters are also attributed by coercive practices of the ecosystem and the Government without getting concurrence from the public. Man-Made Catastrophic and Humongous Global Disasters delineates hurricanes, cyclones, hail storms, typhoons, tornados, landslides, flood havocs, droughts, fire hazards, etc. as natural disasters caused due to climate change. Therefore, it is our responsibility to keep a pollution-free country for the survival of human beings from catastrophic and humongous disasters.

Our Universe is part of the Multiverse – a confluence of countless and infinite numbers of planets with innumerable galaxies unbeknownst to the majority. Earth is unique and is blessed among thousands of other planets with plant life and animals. Homo sapiens are the highest form of living beings on earth. There is more evidence of the impact of climate change, especially in extreme weather events, which is taking a greater toll on life. Science shows that emissions are still going up, not down. According to the 2019 WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another record high. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, extreme weather, water stress, rising sea levels and disruption of marine and land ecosystems. At present, Greenland is a looming 660,000 square miles of frozen water. At the edge, it might be only tens of feet thick; in the faraway interior, nearly two miles. If all of it were to melt, it would raise global sea levels by about 20 feet. Most scientists think that this can come to pass due to human-induced climate change.

Global warming and climate changes are caused due to excess emission of greenhouse gases mostly from the industries and burning of fossil fuels. At present, there is a deficit of seasonal rainfalls, increase in atmospheric temperature, rising sea levels, scarcity of water for domestic and industrial purposes. There are interstate disputes; even the Apex court finds it difficult to satisfy the agrarian community regarding the equitable distribution of water. Domestic and industrial effluents are released to the natural river courses contaminating the drinking water. Unusual and unprecedented downpour of rainfall caused by cyclonic effects leads to natural disasters such as floods and landslides. On the other end, there are drought and outbreak of diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. There is an imperative need to protect the natural reserves as per the approved norms of National Forest Policy to have a proper carbon sink for the mitigation of excess emission of greenhouse gases. Pollution is on the rise. The air and oceans are highly polluted by the presence of plastics, acids, chemicals, greenhouse gases and other elements. There are changes in the sea temperature due to El Nino and La Nina factors that cause adverse climatic conditions.

World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) brings researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world in the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management, enhance understanding of risks and advance actions for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters. The fifth WCDM deliberates on three critical issues that pose the most serious challenges as well as hold the best possible promise of building resilience to disasters. These are Technology, Finance, and Capacity. WCDM has emerged as the largest global conference on disaster management outside the UN system. The fifth WCDM was attended by more than 2500 scientists, professionals, policy makers and practitioners all around the world despite the prevalence of pandemic.

`This is an important book that deserves to be read by everyone concerned with presenting major environmental issues.' Geography ` ... an essential text for policy makers and aid professionals, as well as for students of environmental studies and international development ... It is indeed, a book appropriate to the urgent and critical issues which it addresses.' - Journal of Environmental Management

The Himalaya mountains contain not only one of the largest concentrations of ice outside the polar regions, but contribute to the hydrological requirements of large populations spread over seven nations. The exceptionally high elevations of this low-latitude cryosphere presents a natural laboratory and archives to study climate–tectonics interactions as well as regional v. global climate influences. The existing base-level data on the Himalayan cryosphere are highly variable. Several climate fluctuations occurred during the late Quaternary (MIS1–MIS5, especially the last c. 100 ka), which led to the evolution of the Himalayan landscape. Detailed studies of these archives, along with those of the present cryosphere and related hydrosphere, are essential for understanding the controls on present and future hydrology of the glacial-fed mountain rivers. This volume, a follow-up of the XII International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Science, Goa (A SCAR symposium), provides new data from locales spread over the entire Himalaya region and from Tibet. It provides a glimpse of the late Quaternary cryosphere, as well as a discussion in the last section on sustainability in the context of geohazard mitigations as well as the hydrological budget.