A decline in snow cover area of Passu and Ghulkin valleys between 1995 and 2022
Vol20 No.12:3542-3551
【Title】A decline in snow cover area of Passu and Ghulkin valleys between 1995 and 2022
【Author】Imran HUSSAIN1; Mumtaz ALI2;Sher MUHAMMAD3*; Wajid HASSAN4, 5; Salar ALI1; Zakir HUSSAIN4, 5; Syed Hammad ALI6; Shaukat ALI7, 8; Muhammad Younis KHAN9, 10
【Addresses】1 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Baltistan, Skardu 16100, Pakistan; 2 Micromaps IT and GIS Consultancy LLC, 26135, UAE; 3 International Centers for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), G.P.O. Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal; 4 Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; 6 Glacier Monitoring Research Centre (GMRC), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Lahore 54000, Pakistan; 7 SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2L3, Canada; 8 Global Change Impact Studies Center (GCISC), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan; 9 Departments of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman; 10 National Centers of Excellence in Geology (NCEG), University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan
【Corresponding author】Sher MUHAMMAD
【Citation】Hussain I, Ali M, Muhammad S, et al. (2023) A decline in snow cover area of Passu and Ghulkin valleys between 1995 and 2022. Journal of Mountain Science 20(12). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8037-2
【DOI】https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8037-2
【Abstract】The global cryosphere is experiencing accelerated melting due to climate change. Currently, the Karakoram anomaly is under discussion with a debate about the possibility that the anomaly may have recently ended. This study aims to evaluate the up-to-date changes in snow cover in the western Karakoram region. We observed the snow cover changes in Passu and Ghulkin valleys in the Hunza River basin (HRB) of the Karakoram through multi-temporal Landsat satellite data between 1995 and 2022. We found a significant reduction in snow cover in these valleys, with an average reduction rate of 0.42 km2/yr, resulting in a total reduction of ∼11.46 k m2 between 1995 and 2022. This reduction in snow cover is consistent with the mass loss of glaciers in the Karakoram region in recent years. The decline in snow cover in these valleys is also consistent with the meteorological data. The temperature in summer (June) has significantly increased whereas the precipitation in the accumulation season (March) has decreased. These rapid changes suggest that it is crucially important to monitor the snow cover on a regular basis to support downstream management of snowmelt runoff. In addition, there is a need of planning for mitigation and adaptation strategies for snow-related hazards.
【Keywords】Cryosphere; Snow covers area; Climate change; Karakoram