Publication

Abstract : Rising global temperatures have led to accelerated melting of glaciers, resulting in the formation and expansion of glacial lakes. Many such lakes have the potential to cause catastrophic events such as flash floods in high mountainous regions. The present study was conducted in the Western Himalayas, where a large proglacial lake associated with a glacier has expanded at a high rate since the last few decades. The aim was to analyse the historical glacial lake growth and predict the area and volume of lake expansion in the future. Preliminary analyses using satellite Landsat datasets (TM, ETM+, and OLI) from 1996 to 2022 were used to calculate the changes in the surface area of the lake and the retreat of the glacier. The results were then compared with well-established band ratio algorithms such as the Normalized Difference Water Index and Normalized Difference Snow Index. The results showed that the surface area of the lake increased by 52–82.71 ha from 1996 to 2022, which is an alarming rate of 48% over a period of 26 years. Furthermore, the glacier area reduced from 26 to 25.66 km2 during the same period, and the glacier retreat was estimated as 27.8 m/year from 1996 to 2000. The rate of retreat has escalated in recent decades compared with the previous one. The recession of this glacier and the simultaneous expansion of the abutting lake forewarns us of the need to conduct further studies to understand glacier lake dynamics.