Decadal Monitoring of Snow Coverage by using High-Resolution MODIS Product over Himalayas

Climate change and its impact on snow cover and glaciers in Himalayas have gained tremendous attention among scientific committee, research institutions and governments and for last couple of decades. In this study, we use remotely sensed MODIS images to monitor spatial and temporal variability of snow cover over the Himalayas. The 8-days MODIS products have been used to analyze decadal, annual and seasonal variability in Himalayas covering China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. The MODIS product used in this study are the maximum snow extent and fractional snow covers which is available in 8-days temporal and 500 m and 0.05 degree spatial resolutions, respectively. The preliminary results show high potential of MODIS products in capturing snow coverage in high relief region of Himalayas. Although the snow area extent (%) exhibit similar trend over last decades, the seasonal variability within the year is quite evident. The study depicts clear inverse relation between the daily mean temperature and SAE, especially during melting season. The decreasing trend of snow fall in January and increasing trend in last winter and early spring may be interpreted as a signal of seasonal shift and possible climate change. However, further analysis is required to identify scientific reason behind rapid melting of snow cover in Himalayas.