Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1147-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1147-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Snowfall in the Himalayas: an uncertain future from a little-known past
E. Viste
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allégaten 70, 5007 Bergen, Norway
A. Sorteberg
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allégaten 70, 5007 Bergen, Norway
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Cited
48 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Evaluation of snow depth and snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in global reanalyses using in situ and satellite remote sensing observations Y. Orsolini et al.
- Trends in the indices of precipitation phases under current warming in Poland, 1966–2020 E. ŁUPIKASZA & Ł. MAŁARZEWSKI
- The east–west division of changing precipitation in Nepal B. Pokharel et al.
- Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of Snow Depth and Snow Cover Days over the Tibetan Plateau C. Zhang et al.
- Evaluating L-band InSAR snow water equivalent retrievals with repeat ground-penetrating radar and terrestrial lidar surveys in northern Colorado R. Bonnell et al.
- Intensified occurrences of snow droughts are related to the snow cover dynamics in the Hindu Kush Himalayas H. Singh et al.
- Analysis of spatiotemporal variation in the snow cover in Western Hindukush-Himalaya region A. Azizi & F. Akhtar
- Water resource vulnerabilities from climate-induced tipping point behaviour in runoff volumes and seasonality in the region of the ‘Karakoram Anomaly’: A snow-glacier melt perspective J. Ougahi & J. Rowan
- Downscaling Snow Deposition Using Historic Snow Depth Patterns: Diagnosing Limitations From Snowfall Biases, Winter Snow Losses, and Interannual Snow Pattern Repeatability J. Pflug et al.
- The impact of circulation types and their changing thermal properties on the probability of days with snowfall and rainfall in Poland, 1966–2020 E. Łupikasza et al.
- Effects of climate change on treeline trees in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest, Central Himalaya) S. Pandey et al.
- Future snow projections in a small basin of the Western Himalaya S. Nepal et al.
- Anthropogenic drivers and their impact on the hydrological regime of Nepal: a review S. Sayedi et al.
- The freezing level in the tropical Andes, Peru: An indicator for present and future glacier extents S. Schauwecker et al.
- Perennial snow and ice cover change from 2001 to 2021 in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region derived from the Landsat analysis-ready data A. Khan et al.
- Water Balance Assessment under Different Glacier Coverage Scenarios in the Hunza Basin S. Shrestha & S. Nepal
- Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers S. Laha et al.
- The evaluation of climate change impact on hydrologic processes of a mountain river basin T. Adhikari et al.
- Contrasting changes of snowfall in response to temperature and rainfall over two distinct geographic ranges of the Himalayas: A study using the High Asia Refined analysis data K. Subrahmanyam et al.
- Twenty-first-century glacio-hydrological changes in the Himalayan headwater Beas River basin L. Li et al.
- Assessment and modelling of hydro-sedimentological flows of the eastern river Dhauliganga, north-western Himalaya, India K. Rautela et al.
- Challenges in Tunneling in the Himalayas: A Survey of Several Prominent Excavation Projects in the Himalayan Mountain Range of South Asia D. KC et al.
- Critical environmental factors affecting mountain geohazards in a warming climate in Southwest China X. Xu et al.
- Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Snow Cover and Its Climate Impacts in the Western Tibetan Plateau Region A. Naqi et al.
- Effects of climate change on runoff in a representative Himalayan basin assessed through optimal integration of multi-source precipitation data Y. Xiang et al.
- Sources and pathways of spring flow and climate change effects in the Dungju Ri & Yude Ri catchments, Bhutan Himalaya T. Dendup et al.
- Partitioning Solid and Liquid Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau Based on Satellite Radar Observations P. Song & G. Liu
- Decreasing trends of mean and extreme snowfall in High Mountain Asia F. Sun et al.
- Future changes in hydro-climatic extremes in the Upper Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins R. Wijngaard et al.
- Assessing the snow cover dynamics and its relationship with different hydro-climatic characteristics in Upper Ganges river basin and its sub-basins S. Thapa et al.
- Modelling of early winter snow density using fully polarimetric C-band SAR data in the Indian Himalayas D. Varade et al.
- Impact of climate change on snow precipitation and streamflow in the Upper Indus Basin ending twenty-first century S. Romshoo & A. Marazi
- Comparison of modeled snow properties in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan E. Bair et al.
- Climate Change Impacts on the Upper Indus Hydrology: Sources, Shifts and Extremes A. Lutz et al.
- Exploring the ability of the variable-resolution Community Earth System Model to simulate cryospheric–hydrological variables in High Mountain Asia R. Wijngaard et al.
- Climate change vs. socio-economic development: understanding the future South Asian water gap R. Wijngaard et al.
- Investigating changes in Himalayan glacier in warming environment: a case study of Kolahoi glacier M. Rafiq & A. Mishra
- Flood vulnerability assessment of the Upper Jhelum Basin using HEC-HMS model S. Altaf & S. Romshoo
- Evaluation and projection of snowfall changes in High Mountain Asia based on NASA’s NEX-GDDP high-resolution daily downscaled dataset Y. Li et al.
- Hydrology of debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia K. Miles et al.
- Assessment of climate change impacts on glacio-hydrological processes and their variations within critical zone M. Shafeeque et al.
- The Global Social and Economic Consequences of Mountain Cryospheric Change G. Rasul & D. Molden
- Spatio-temporal landscape changes and the impacts of climate change in mountainous Bhutan: A case of Punatsang Chhu Basin N. Chhogyel et al.
- Climate-driven transformations in the Western Himalaya: projecting glacier retreat, snow cover variability, and future meltwater runoff J. Singh et al.
- Future projection of winter precipitation over northwest India and associated regions using CORDEX-SA experiments T. Midhuna & A. Dimri
- Deriving Bias and Uncertainty in MERRA-2 Snowfall Precipitation Over High Mountain Asia Y. Liu & S. Margulis
- Debris Emergence Elevations and Glacier Change J. Shea et al.
- Climate change in the High Mountain Asia in CMIP6 M. Lalande et al.
48 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Evaluation of snow depth and snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in global reanalyses using in situ and satellite remote sensing observations Y. Orsolini et al.
- Trends in the indices of precipitation phases under current warming in Poland, 1966–2020 E. ŁUPIKASZA & Ł. MAŁARZEWSKI
- The east–west division of changing precipitation in Nepal B. Pokharel et al.
- Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of Snow Depth and Snow Cover Days over the Tibetan Plateau C. Zhang et al.
- Evaluating L-band InSAR snow water equivalent retrievals with repeat ground-penetrating radar and terrestrial lidar surveys in northern Colorado R. Bonnell et al.
- Intensified occurrences of snow droughts are related to the snow cover dynamics in the Hindu Kush Himalayas H. Singh et al.
- Analysis of spatiotemporal variation in the snow cover in Western Hindukush-Himalaya region A. Azizi & F. Akhtar
- Water resource vulnerabilities from climate-induced tipping point behaviour in runoff volumes and seasonality in the region of the ‘Karakoram Anomaly’: A snow-glacier melt perspective J. Ougahi & J. Rowan
- Downscaling Snow Deposition Using Historic Snow Depth Patterns: Diagnosing Limitations From Snowfall Biases, Winter Snow Losses, and Interannual Snow Pattern Repeatability J. Pflug et al.
- The impact of circulation types and their changing thermal properties on the probability of days with snowfall and rainfall in Poland, 1966–2020 E. Łupikasza et al.
- Effects of climate change on treeline trees in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest, Central Himalaya) S. Pandey et al.
- Future snow projections in a small basin of the Western Himalaya S. Nepal et al.
- Anthropogenic drivers and their impact on the hydrological regime of Nepal: a review S. Sayedi et al.
- The freezing level in the tropical Andes, Peru: An indicator for present and future glacier extents S. Schauwecker et al.
- Perennial snow and ice cover change from 2001 to 2021 in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region derived from the Landsat analysis-ready data A. Khan et al.
- Water Balance Assessment under Different Glacier Coverage Scenarios in the Hunza Basin S. Shrestha & S. Nepal
- Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers S. Laha et al.
- The evaluation of climate change impact on hydrologic processes of a mountain river basin T. Adhikari et al.
- Contrasting changes of snowfall in response to temperature and rainfall over two distinct geographic ranges of the Himalayas: A study using the High Asia Refined analysis data K. Subrahmanyam et al.
- Twenty-first-century glacio-hydrological changes in the Himalayan headwater Beas River basin L. Li et al.
- Assessment and modelling of hydro-sedimentological flows of the eastern river Dhauliganga, north-western Himalaya, India K. Rautela et al.
- Challenges in Tunneling in the Himalayas: A Survey of Several Prominent Excavation Projects in the Himalayan Mountain Range of South Asia D. KC et al.
- Critical environmental factors affecting mountain geohazards in a warming climate in Southwest China X. Xu et al.
- Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Snow Cover and Its Climate Impacts in the Western Tibetan Plateau Region A. Naqi et al.
- Effects of climate change on runoff in a representative Himalayan basin assessed through optimal integration of multi-source precipitation data Y. Xiang et al.
- Sources and pathways of spring flow and climate change effects in the Dungju Ri & Yude Ri catchments, Bhutan Himalaya T. Dendup et al.
- Partitioning Solid and Liquid Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau Based on Satellite Radar Observations P. Song & G. Liu
- Decreasing trends of mean and extreme snowfall in High Mountain Asia F. Sun et al.
- Future changes in hydro-climatic extremes in the Upper Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins R. Wijngaard et al.
- Assessing the snow cover dynamics and its relationship with different hydro-climatic characteristics in Upper Ganges river basin and its sub-basins S. Thapa et al.
- Modelling of early winter snow density using fully polarimetric C-band SAR data in the Indian Himalayas D. Varade et al.
- Impact of climate change on snow precipitation and streamflow in the Upper Indus Basin ending twenty-first century S. Romshoo & A. Marazi
- Comparison of modeled snow properties in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan E. Bair et al.
- Climate Change Impacts on the Upper Indus Hydrology: Sources, Shifts and Extremes A. Lutz et al.
- Exploring the ability of the variable-resolution Community Earth System Model to simulate cryospheric–hydrological variables in High Mountain Asia R. Wijngaard et al.
- Climate change vs. socio-economic development: understanding the future South Asian water gap R. Wijngaard et al.
- Investigating changes in Himalayan glacier in warming environment: a case study of Kolahoi glacier M. Rafiq & A. Mishra
- Flood vulnerability assessment of the Upper Jhelum Basin using HEC-HMS model S. Altaf & S. Romshoo
- Evaluation and projection of snowfall changes in High Mountain Asia based on NASA’s NEX-GDDP high-resolution daily downscaled dataset Y. Li et al.
- Hydrology of debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia K. Miles et al.
- Assessment of climate change impacts on glacio-hydrological processes and their variations within critical zone M. Shafeeque et al.
- The Global Social and Economic Consequences of Mountain Cryospheric Change G. Rasul & D. Molden
- Spatio-temporal landscape changes and the impacts of climate change in mountainous Bhutan: A case of Punatsang Chhu Basin N. Chhogyel et al.
- Climate-driven transformations in the Western Himalaya: projecting glacier retreat, snow cover variability, and future meltwater runoff J. Singh et al.
- Future projection of winter precipitation over northwest India and associated regions using CORDEX-SA experiments T. Midhuna & A. Dimri
- Deriving Bias and Uncertainty in MERRA-2 Snowfall Precipitation Over High Mountain Asia Y. Liu & S. Margulis
- Debris Emergence Elevations and Glacier Change J. Shea et al.
- Climate change in the High Mountain Asia in CMIP6 M. Lalande et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 26 Apr 2026
Short summary
Snow and ice provide large amounts of meltwater to the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. In this study we show that climate change will reduce the amount of snow falling in the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram substantially. The limited number of observations in remote upper-level terrain makes it difficult to get a complete overview of the situation today, but our results indicate that by 2071–2100 snowfall may be reduced by 30–70% with the strongest anthropogenic forcing scenario.
Snow and ice provide large amounts of meltwater to the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. In...