Angry Gods and Raging Rivers: The Changing Climate of the Central Himalayas

• In Event: Religion, Climate Change and People on the Move: Latin America and South Asia

Abstract

The rivers of the central Himalayas in India have been visited for centuries in quest of life blessings and other religious benefits. This has given rise to a very popular form of pilgrimage known as the Char Dham Yatra in which pilgrims journey to the four sites of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath, all located near the sources of rivers that eventually lead into the Ganges. The economy of this region is highly dependent on the pilgrimage. Ethnographic research conducted on Himalayan rivers in Char Dham sites in 1999-2003 confirmed a very benign view of these rivers as life-giving goddesses. But in recent years the number of people performing the pilgrimage has plummeted. Why? The answer in short is a new level of fear brought about by climate-related cataclysmic events, particularly record-breaking rainfall and the deterioration of glaciers that have led to glacial lake outbursts (GLOFs) that have killed thousands of people in the Central Himalayas with floods and landslides. Especially frightening was the destruction of the Kedarnath pilgrimage site in June of 2013. People have begun talking about the gods punishing humans with erratic weather and severe storm events because of our reckless (even sinful) behavior. This paper reviews recent weather events and tracks theological changes now taking place within Himalayan Hinduism as a result of climate change, as well as the economic effects of the changing climate of the central Himalayas.

Author

• David Haberman