The government says the Himalayan glaciers are receding at varying rates in different regions. Informing about the findings of the Geological Survey of India in Rajya Sabha yesterday, Environment and Forest Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said recession of glaciers could be the result of a natural cyclic process as majority of Himalayan glaciers may be passing through such a phase. Mr. Ramesh said the National Action Plan on Climate Change will address the problem. To another question, Mr. Ramesh said India and China have jointly agreed to conduct research on the impact of global warming on glaciers in the Himalayan and Tibetan regions. The minister said the findings of the scientists at Columbia University and NASA’s space flight centre states that potency of methane gas emitted by different industries and its impact on global warming had been largely underestimated while signing the Kyoto protocol.<br/><br/>