Response of Kolahoi Glacier, Kashmir Himalaya to climate change: A preliminary Study

Kolahoi Glacier (340 07-340 12 N: 75016- 750 23 E), Liddar Valley, Kashmir Himalaya is one of the largest glacier in the Kashmir valley. The glacier is nourished by westerly system during winter and ablation takes place during summer period with no impact of SW monsoon system. Liddar Valley covers an area of 1282.55 km2 and sustain about 48 glaciers with total ice covered area of about 39 km2. The melt water feeds the west and east Liddar rivers and downstream in the valley they joined and forms River Jhelum which is the main source of water and livelihood to entire Kashmir valley. The major concern is that melting glaciers in the Kashmir valley will have ‘cascading effects’ across ecosystems, creating chain reactions on the food and water security of marginalised communities. An analysis of the available records is presented in this study. It appears that considerable recession of the snout has taken place since 1857. The glacier has receded about 1.6 km from 1857-1909 (52 years ?), 0.82 km from 1912-1961 (50 years), and 1.0 km from 1962-2008 (47 years). The area of the glacier is decreased by about 15% (0.04 Km2/year) from 1962 to 2008. The data indicate that there is significant increase in the rate of glacier recession for last few decades. It appears that global and regional warming, below normal precipitation occurred during the period of snow accumulation are perhaps the main reasons for accelerating the rate of melting during recent times. The stream (West Liddar) fed by the Kolahoi glacier also shows an increase in the discharge for last few decades as compared to the other streams fed dominantly by snow melt.