Rayees AHMED, University of Kashmir, India
Syed Towseef AHMAD, University of Kashmir, India
Gowhar FAROOQ WANI, University of Kashmir, India
Riyaz Ahmad MIR, Geological Survey of India, India
Pervez AHMED, University of Kashmir, India
Sanjay K. JAIN, National Institute of Hydrology, India
In the Himalayan Mountain region, a large number of glacial lakes had developed during the recent past in response to glacier recession under the influence of climate change. In this study, we used high resolution (5.8 m) Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) LISS IV data and Google earth images to generate an updated glacial lake inventory of Upper Jhelum Basin (UJB) of North-western Himalaya. A total of 393 glacial lakes covering an area of 21.55±3.8 km2 were identified, mapped and inventoried. The lake inventory includes 102 proglacial lakes, 31 supraglacial lakes and 278 unconnected glacial lakes. Using the weighted indices-based approach, 21 glacial lakes were found as Potentially Dangerous Glacial Lakes (PDGLs). Out of which, 7 lakes were identified as High, 9 Medium and 5 Low hazard glacial lakes. The total area of PDGLs showed an increase of 5.92 km2 (1980) to 8.46 km2 (2020), with an overall growth of 2.51 Km2 (42.2%) at the rate of 0.063 km2/year, alongside glacier retreat and increasing warming trend. This study will be an important instrument for future GLOF studies in the Himalayan region.
Keywords: Climate change|Glacial Lake Inventory|LISS-IV|PDGLs|Upper Jhelum Basin
A102590RA