Altitudinal dynamics of glacial lakes under changing climate in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya ranges

Ashraf, Arshad; Naz, Rozina; Iqbal, Muhammad Bilal

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.01.033

Cited by 35 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This study showed further that (1) small lakes (<0.2 km 2 ) are more sensitive to climate change; (2) lakes closer to glaciers and at higher elevations, particularly those connected to glacier termini, have undergone greater changes in area; and (3) glacier-fed lakes are dominant in both number and area (>70%) and exhibit faster expansion trends compared to non-glacier-fed lakes. Similar results were observed by Ashraf et al (2017), for the western Himalaya/Karakoram/Hindu Kush region. The total increase in glacier-fed lake area for the entire extended HKH was greatest in the central and eastern Himalaya, and only one region (Nyainqentanghla) exhibited a decrease in glacier-fed lake area (Zhang et al 2015a, b;Table 7.4).…”

Section: Observed Changesupporting

confidence: 87%

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Bolch

Shea

Liu

et al. 2019

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

208

175

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Section: Observed Changesupporting

confidence: 87%

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Bolch

Shea

Liu

et al. 2019

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

208

175

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“…Glaciers are slow moving "rivers" of ice formed over many years from snow on sloping land. Their continued disappearance will have a severe impact on water supplies in some regions.Scietists project that all the glaciers in Montana' ns Glacier National Park (USA) could disappear completely by 2030.About 5500 glaciers in the Hindu Kush -Himalayan region could reduce their volume by 70-90% by 2100, with dire consequences for farming and hydropower generation (Ashraf et al, 2017). Sea ice shrinkage further amplifies global warming.…”

Section: ) Retreating Glaciers and Shrinking Snowpackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perilous Consequences of Global Climatic Change: A Review

Kalra¹

2019

IJRASET

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Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. Recent decades have seen very high average global surface temperature. This global warming causes the climate to change. Climate change is predicted to have overwhelming effects on the environment and on socioeconomic and related sectors, including water resources, agriculture, human health and coastal zones. The global temperatures are likely to rise about 6 0 C, if not checked. The cause of global warming is mostly by human interferences like deforestation and increase in the emission of green house gases. CO 2 is a major contributor to the green house effect and global warming. 91% of CO 2 emission enters the atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels (for eg. natural gas, coal, oil and gasoline), gas flaring and cement production. The poles are affected most by the elevated earth's temperature resulting the glaciers, polar ice to melt and sea level to rise. Studies show that the summers in the arctic region may be ice-free by 2040. The climate change is a great threat to human life causing the intensity and frequency of floods, storms, cyclones, droughts to rise. This temperature enhancement will increase the rate of extinction for many habitats and species and it would become difficult for life to sustain on earth. Developing new energy polices and initiatives can help save the planet and health of our earth's inhabitants today.

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“…The frequency of GLOF events has been increased in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region since the second half of the 20th century due to the combined effects of climate change and deforestation (Iturrizaga et al, 2005;Sakai and Fujita, 2010;Khan, 2014). Many such events have been reported from supraglacial and englacial lakes outbursting in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya (HKH) region of Pakistan (Table 1), which had resulted in loss of the valuable lives, property and infrastructure in the downstream (DRM, 2013;Ashraf et al, 2014;ICIMOD, 2015;Ashraf et al, 2017). According to Inter Press Service (2015), Pakistan has experienced seven GLOFs over the past 17 months alone that not only wiped out standing crops and irrigation networks but also displaced local communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The supraglacial lakes identified in the Hunza and Gilgit basins had caused frequent flooding events in the recent past. An ephemeral lake Hunz-gl 14 (locally 'Yaz-Sam') over Ghulkin glacier in the Upper Hunza valley(Figure 7a) had caused frequent flooding events during 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2015 owing to its geographic position near the highly crevassed part of the glacier(Ashraf et al, 2014(Ashraf et al, , 2017. Those events have resulted in heavy damage to the property and infrastructure in nearbyGhulkin and Hussaini villages.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Supraglacial lakes Formation and Risk of Outburst Flooding in the Himalayan Cryosphere of Pakistan

Ashraf

Rustam

2020

Int. J. Environ.

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The dramatic rise in warm temperatures in the Himalayan region has caused the formation and expansion of numerous supraglacial lakes, some of which pose a serious flood hazard for the downstream communities. In this study, we have investigated the risk of flood hazards associated with supraglacial lakes in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayan ranges of Pakistan using Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) data of 2013 and field observations. Among the total of 438 supraglacial lakes, the majority were identified in the Karakoram (378) followed by the Hindu Kush range (39). The concentration of lakes was high within 3500-4000 m elevation (168) followed by 4000-4500 m elevation range (116). The lakes had shown more than a two-fold increase during the 2001-2013 period in the three mountain ranges. The increase in lake number was pronounced over valley glaciers likely due to increasing hydro-glacial activity under changing climate. Two types of supraglacial lakes were identified based on geographic characteristics, for example those rolling over glaciers surface away from the margins (called rolling supraglacial lakes ‘RSLs’) and the lakes found near the margins of glaciers mostly stationary in nature (called static supraglacial lakes ‘SSLs’). Most of the glacial lakes outburst flood (GLOF) events have been observed from SSLs in this region. However, the hydrodynamic process exaggerating the risk of GLOF from supraglacial and englacial lakes needs in-depth research for effective disaster risk reduction in this region in future.

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Altitudinal dynamics of glacial lakes under changing climate in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya ranges

Cited by 35 publications

References 27 publications

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Perilous Consequences of Global Climatic Change: A Review

Monitoring Supraglacial lakes Formation and Risk of Outburst Flooding in the Himalayan Cryosphere of Pakistan

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