Analysis of snow cover and climatic variability in Bhaga basin located in western Himalaya

Abstract

Bhaga Basin has complex mountainous terrain; little study has been done on the spatial and temporal characteristics of snow cover in the region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-day snow cover products between 2001 and 2012 for winter period (November–April) have been used to study the variation in snow cover area (SCA). The statistical analysis based on non-parametric Mann Kendall and Sen’s slope methods have been used for detecting and estimating trends for climatic variables (temperature and snowfall) and SCA for winter period. Results of statistical analysis indicate rise in minimum temperature (0.02 °C year−1) and fall in maximum temperature (0.17 °C year−1). It also shows decrease in mean seasonal snowfall (0.07 cm year−1). The seasonal SCA was found to decrease at the rate of 0.002% year−1. This study indicates that the climate change is probably one of the major causes for depleting SCA.