Context: According to the latest Snow Update Report by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), snow persistence in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region hits 23-year low, impacting water security for 2 billion people.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Major findings of the Report; Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.
Key Findings of the Report
- Snow persistence over the Hindu Kush Himalaya region between November 2024 and March 2025 was 23.6% below normal levels, a record low in the last 23 years.
- Snow persistence measures the fraction of time snow remains on the ground after snowfall.
- This marks the third consecutive year of below-normal seasonal snow across the region.
- The most alarming decline in snow persistence is in the Mekong region, with ~52% decline.
Factors contributing to Low Snow Persistence
- Climate change: Low snow persistence is a classic fallout of climate change. The rise in temperature in the Himalayas has exceeded the global average for at least four decades. An ICIMOD report of 2019 had warned that even if the global temperature rise is limited to the Paris climate pact’s threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the HKW region will witness a warming of 0.3 degrees Celsius.
- Carbon emissions have caused an irreversible course of recurrent snow anomalies in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
- Local developments like changes in the land system — the transformation of farmlands into urban areas — have combined with broader climatic changes to drive the temperature rise.
- Weaker western disturbances: Extra-tropical storms from the Mediterranean are known to contribute to winter precipitation in the Himalayas. But weaker western disturbances in recent years have disrupted the timing of seasonal precipitation, leading to shifts in snowfall patterns.
Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region:
- HKH mountains extend around 3500 km over eight countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
- HKH are called ‘freshwater towers of Asia’ as water originating from their snow, glaciers and rainfall feed the ten largest river systems in Asia — Amu Darya, Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtse, Yellow river, and Tarim.
- These river basins provide water to almost one-fourth of the world’s population and are a significant freshwater source for 240 million people in the HKH region.
Consequences
On an average, seasonal snowmelt contributes about one-fourth of the total annual runoff of the rivers originating from Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
- Continued deficit of seasonal meltwater means lesser river runoffs and early-summer water stress, especially for downstream communities, and would contribute to food insecurity.
- Agriculture in the region is timed with the seasonal flows of water and predictable cycles of rain. The unpredictability of the hydrological (water) cycle would contribute to food insecurity.
Way Forward
- Improvements in Weather forecasting and Early warning systems.
- Improving water infrastructure and developing policies for protecting areas receiving snowfall are important.
- Investments in better water management and drought-proofing agriculture.
- Transition towards greener forms of development and reduce emissions.
- Reforestation with native tree species can help the ground retain more snow.
- Communities involvement in local and national level decision-making.
- Greater regional cooperation on data-sharing mechanisms on river flows, flood and natural resources.
To tackle this regional snow crisis and the challenges, India needs long-term food, water and energy resilience. The nation needs to embrace a paradigm shift toward science-based, forward-looking policies and foster renewed regional cooperation for transboundary water management and emissions mitigation.