Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad delivered a lecture on “Rise of the Himalayan mountains and Climate Proxies” at UGC-Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) of the University of Kashmir during the ongoing 84th General Orientation Course that is being attended by 40 Assistant Professors of various colleges and universities of J&K. Prof Talat Ahmad dwelled at length upon how the Himalayas came into being and how they are impacting the climate change. In his lecture, he deliberated upon plate tectonic framework and the probability of earthquakes in the Indian subcontinent in general and Kashmir Himalayas in particular. Prof Talat Ahmad threw light upon how the earth’s climate has been moderated within limits through geological time and why has earth been cooling over the past 50 million years when the plate movements have not actually accelerated. Prof Talat Ahmad emphasized that humans cannot control nature, therefore, there should be no unnecessary fiddling with the nature. He also discussed climatic-tectonic feedback and its impact on precipitation in detail. The lecture was followed by a question-answer session during which participants of the course asked several questions related to the plate tectonics, Kashmir Himalayas, environment, climate change, earthquakes and other disasters. In his welcome address, Director, HRDC, Prof. Shabir Ahmad Bhat stated that orientation programmes are focussed at developing competencies among the faculty, making the teaching-learning process more result-oriented, developing strategies for enhancing quality and thereby improving the entire education system. He reiterated that the topics for the course are meticulously chosen considering the latest developments in the higher education sector and eminent personalities from academia and other fields are invited for an interaction with the participants.
