NSIDC Cryosphere Seminar

Snow-Glacier dynamics and its interaction with the hydrology in Hindukush-Karakoram and Himalayas region of Pakistan by Huma Hayat

The agriculture-based economy of Pakistan largely depends on the water supply from the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) originating in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya (HKH) range. The UIB supplies more than 70% of the flow to the downstream agricultural areas during summer. It is mainly fed by snow and glacial melt water from Hindukush-Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH) mountain ranges.  For efficient management of downstream water resources, studying snow and glacier cover dynamics and their relation with the hydrology of the UIB is a prerequisite. The network of meteorological stations within the UIB is very sparse and mainly limited to Pakistan’s political boundary, therefore remote sensing data is the most reliable alternative. This study estimates snow and glacier dynamics and their interaction with the hydro-climatological processes in Chitral, Hunza, and Astore sub-basins of UIB. This will contribute to a better understanding of the complex hydroclimatic regime of the high-altitude snow- and glacier-fed Indus river catchment.

Huma Hayat is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Environmental Sciences at COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan. Her research is on the snow and glacier dynamics in the Hindukush, Karakoram, and western Himalaya region of Pakistan using remote sensing.

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