State of Himalayan cryosphere and implications for water security

Abstract

The Himalayan region has a large concentration of glaciers and seasonal snow. Recent advances in remote sensing technologies have made it possible to study previously unexplored Himalayan cryosphere. These studies are essential to understand the water security of a large population living in Indo-Gangetic plains. We compile the work carried out by the scientific community to develop a state-of-art understanding of the Himalayan Cryosphere and discuss potential implications on water security. This paper covers the cryosphere's various aspects like snow and glacier extent, glacier stored water, loss in glacier area and length, long-term trend in glacier mass loss and potential future changes due to climate change. The changes in the cryospheric resources are likely to bring changes in the magnitude and seasonality of runoff components, especially in the basins with high meltwater contributions such as Indus. These changes in the basins' water resources need to be studied in context with the spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the climate change impacts, along with socio-economic dynamics for safeguarding water security and planning holistic water management adaptations.