Geospatial Assessment of Deglaciation and Climate Change Impacts in Chandra Valley, Western Himalaya (1989–2017)
Keywords:
Western Himalaya, Chandra Valley, Glacier Change, Landsat, Debris-Covered Glaciers, Glacial Lakes, Remote SensingAbstract
Glacier retreat in the Himalaya is a visible indicator of climate change with implications for water security, hazards, and ecosystems. We present a geospatial assessment of glacier change in the Chandra Valley, Western Himalaya (India) from 1989–2017 using multi-temporal Landsat 5 TM / Landsat 8 OLI imagery supported by ALOS PALSAR DEM. A hybrid workflow (supervised classification with visual interpretation and terrain constraints) delineated five elements—accumulation area (AA), ice-exposed ablation (IEA), debris-covered ablation (DCA), deglaciated valley (DV), and glacial lakes (GL)—which were compared across epochs and intervals.
Total glacier area declined from 726.36 km² (1989) to 614.45 km² (2017) (−111.91 km²; ≈15%). Over the same period, AA decreased by 74.75 km², IEA by 23.58 km², and DCA by 13.59 km²; DV expanded by 29%, and GL increased by 51%, indicating enhanced downwasting, forefield exposure, and lake growth. These results evidence accelerating cryospheric change with cascading impacts on downstream water resources, hydropower reliability, and community resilience.
By quantifying long-term, feature-resolved changes and interval contrasts, this study supports climate-adaptation planning and underscores the need for sustained monitoring and integrated policies for water management and disaster preparedness in debris-rich Himalayan catchments.
