The glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalayas: current status and observed changes from the 1980s to 2010

Abstract

The fate of the Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers has been a topic of heated debate due to their rapid melting and retreat. The underlying reason for the debate is the lack of systematic large-scale observations of the extent of glaciers in the region owing to the high altitude, remoteness of the terrain, and extreme climatic conditions. Here we present a remote sensing -based comprehensive assessment of the current status and observed changes in the glacier extent of the Hindu Kush Himalayas. It reveals highly heterogeneous, yet undeniable impacts of climate change.

Future Water Availability from Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya upper Indus Basin under Conflicting Climate Change Scenarios

“…For the whole Hindukush-Karakoram, the supraglacial debris cover has generally been reported to be around 10% of the total glacier area [65]. Most recent estimates suggest that around 2000 km 2 of the total glacial extent of the whole Indus basin is under the debris cover [68]. Such estimates are in line with earlier studies [65,67] given the fact that debris-covered glaciers of the Indus basin are mainly present within the UIB.…”

“…Such estimates are in line with earlier studies [65,67] given the fact that debris-covered glaciers of the Indus basin are mainly present within the UIB. Therefore, the supraglacial debris cover from the studies [65,67,68] have been considered as reasonable estimates for the UIB. Such debris-covered glacial extent appears to be stable over time as either no or near-zero change has been reported for 93 Karakoram glaciers investigated over the 1977-2014 period [69].…”

Assessment of Recent Glacier Changes and Its Controlling Factors from 1976 to 2011 in Baspa Basin, Western Himalaya

“…Similarly, in the Zanskar valley of western Himalaya, a shrinkage of 212 glaciers resulted in a loss of 57 km 2 (i.e., 8% reduction); however, this was partially offset by a 42 km 2 (or 6%) increase in other glaciers. Overall, a glacial area decrease of 15 km 2 (or 2%) between 1962 and 2001 has been reported (Ghosh et al, 2014), of which 6.5 km 2 (or 5.6%) occurred from 1980 to 2010 in the Shyok Basin (Bajracharya et al, 2015).…”

Nanga Parbat Revisited: Evolution and Dynamics of Sociohydrological Interactions in the Northwestern Himalaya

“…A gainst the background of the prominent Himalayan glacier debate of the past decade, global concerns were raised about the severe consequences of detected and expected changes in the South Asian cryosphere (Cogley 2011;Bolch et al 2012;Hewitt 2014;Bajracharya et al 2015). The sensitive water tower function of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and northwest Himalayan ranges, whose meltwaters feed the upper Indus Basin and secure water availability in the adjacent large-scale irrigation network of the Punjab, gained scientific interest and media coverage as a critical issue in climate change scenarios (Viviroli and Weingartner 2004;Archer et al 2010;Immerzeel, van Beek, and Bierkens 2010;Kaser, Großhauser, and Marzeion 2010;Bocchiola et al 2011;N€ usser and Baghel 2014).…”