Their dark particles settle on snow and glaciers causing them to warm and melt.
Much of this pollution is overlooked because it is shrouded by human loss and religious worship and identity, but the research team has warned the scale of its environmental damage demands further study.
"There are three million religious places of worship in India alone and over 10 million marriages take place every year in this country according to the 2011 census.
"When these results were multiplied to fit these scales, the quantum of emissions was just baffling," researcher Shamsh Pervez said.
