Assessing the Status of Glaciers in Upper Jhelum Basin of Kashmir Himalayas Using Multi-temporal Satellite Data

Climate change, a global challenge of our time has severely impacted mountain glaciers. This study presents a detailed and an updated glacier inventory of 2020 for the Upper Jhelum Basin (UJB), Kashmir Himalayas using Sentinel-2 data and documents 308 glaciers. The glaciers range in size from 0.01 to 10.51 km(2) and cover an area of 102.1 km(2). All glaciers are located in the elevation zone between 3500 and 5000 masl. About 86% of glaciers are small in size (< 0.5 km(2)) and constitute 38.7% of total ice cover. However, glaciers with size greater than 0.5 km(2) are only 14% but constitute a major proportion 61.3% of glacier area. Majority of small glaciers are a result of defragmentation of larger ones, hence more vulnerable to melting. Multi-date satellite images were used to assess glacier fluctuations of selected glaciers (>= 0.3) for the period 1990-2020. The total glacier area has reduced from 85.25 to 68.17 km(2) (20%) at the rate of 0.56 km(2) a(-1). Glaciers in the lower elevation zone (3800-4200 masl) have lost about 35% of their area at the rate of 0.22 km(2) a(-1). The analysis of meteorological data using Thel-Sen method and Mann-Kendall test before examining its impact on glacier mass loss reveals that a persistent warming trend in mean annual temperatures is observed over the region. This is strictly under the influence of global climate change having a potential to cause enhanced shrinking and thinning of glaciers in the study region.

Automated summary

This study presents a detailed glacier inventory for the Upper Jhelum Basin in the Kashmir Himalayas, revealing that smaller glaciers are more vulnerable to melting and have been decreasing in size. The analysis of meteorological data indicates a warming trend in mean annual temperatures, likely contributing to the shrinking and thinning of glaciers in the region.