{"id":41763,"date":"2025-04-22T19:31:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=41763"},"modified":"2025-04-22T19:31:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:01:36","slug":"hindu-kush-himalaya-snow-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-04-2025\/hindu-kush-himalaya-snow-update","title":{"rendered":"Hindu Kush Himalaya Snow Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment\/ GS1\/Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As per the report released by <strong>the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)<\/strong> the <strong>Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region<\/strong> has seen its <strong>third consecutive below-normal snow year in 2025.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Findings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The report used a <strong>23-year time series (from 2003 to 2025)<\/strong> of <strong>basin-scale snow persistence<\/strong> during the snow season between November and March.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>All three major river basins<\/strong> \u2014 Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra \u2014 are experiencing significant declines in snow persistence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Snow persistence across the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) was at a<strong> two-decade low of 23.6%.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Snow persistence in the Ganga basin<\/strong> \u2013 24.1 per cent below normal \u2013 was the lowest in 23 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The snow persistence in the Indus basin<\/strong> declined to 24.5 per cent below normal, from a high of 19.5 per cent above normal in 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The report recorded a bigger decline across <\/strong>the Mekong (51.9 per cent), Salween (48.3 per cent), and Tibetan Plateau (29.1 per cent) river basins in South East Asia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Continued deficit of seasonal meltwater means<\/strong> lesser river runoffs and early-summer water stress, especially for downstream communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recommendations:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>improved water management,\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>stronger drought preparedness,\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>better early warning systems,\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and greater regional cooperation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Long-term resilience will depend on adopting science-led, forward-looking policies, and investing in seasonal water storage, efficient use of meltwater, and integrated water management strategies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Snow Persistence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Snow persistence is the <strong>fraction of time snow is on the ground.<\/strong> When this snow melts, it provides water to people and ecosystems.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the river basins of the <strong>Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), <\/strong>snowmelt is the biggest source of water in the streams.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall, it contributes<strong> 23%<\/strong> of the runoff to the region\u2019s<strong> 12 major river basins every year.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hindu Kush Himalaya<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The HKH mountains<\/strong> extend around <strong>3,500 km over eight countries \u2014<\/strong> Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Pakistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These mountains are also called the<strong> \u201cwater towers of Asia\u201d<\/strong> because they are the origins of<strong> 10 crucial river systems on the continent <\/strong>\u2014 Amu Darya, Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtse, Yellow river, and Tarim.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These river basins provide water to almost <strong>one-fourth of the world\u2019s population <\/strong>and are a significant freshwater source for people in the HKH region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bab4b6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Hindu-Kush-Himalaya-pic.webp\" alt=\"Hindu Kush Himalaya\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-41764\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bab4b6; width:485px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Hindu-Kush-Himalaya-pic.webp 691w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Hindu-Kush-Himalaya-pic-300x171.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>About ICIMOD<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is an <strong>intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre<\/strong> working on behalf of the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH).<br>&#8211; It was established in <strong>1983<\/strong>.<br>&#8211; It is based in <strong>Kathmandu, Nepal<\/strong> and work in and for <strong>eight regional member countries \u2013<\/strong> Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.<br>&#8211; Activities range from hands-on research and piloting of solutions, to policy implementation with governments, to mountain advocacy on the global stage.\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the long term <strong>reforestation <\/strong>with native tree species can help the ground retain more snow.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Better weather forecasting and early warning systems<\/strong> can also help local communities prepare for impending water stress.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improving water infrastructure <\/strong>and developing policies for protecting areas receiving snowfall are important for long-term change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Communities\u2019 involvement<\/strong> in local, national level decision-making and promoting regional cooperation are vital for comprehensive solutions for the sustainability of snow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/climate-change\/snow-persistence-in-brahmaputra-and-ganga-basins-showing-alarming-decline-at-vicennial-lowest-in-indus-basin-icimod-report\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>DTE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">As per the report released by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region has seen its third consecutive below-normal snow year in 2025.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Findings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The report used a 23-year time series (from 2003 to 2025) of basin-scale snow persistence during the snow season between November and March.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">All three major river basins \u2014 Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra \u2014 are experiencing significant declines in snow persistence.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-04-2025\/hindu-kush-himalaya-snow-update\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41763"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41784,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41763\/revisions\/41784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}