Spatio-temporal glacier change analysis of Baspa Subbasin in Himachal Pradesh

Change in glacier dynamics is a primary indicator of climate change, causing adverse disasters, necessitating temporal monitoring of glaciers. Multi-temporal remote sensing satellite data is helpful to extract information of glacier change and extent in the Himalayan region. In the present study, Baspa sub-basin of the Indus basin in Himachal Pradesh is taken to identify the spatio-temporal changes of the glaciers to understand the recent variations. Glaciers were mapped manually using visual interpretation technique on multi resolution datasets for a decadal period (2009-2018) with 3 intermediate years (2012, 2013 and 2016). In 2009, total numbers of glaciers mapped are 82 having a total area of 195.89 km², whereas 142 glaciers are mapped in 2018 with an area of 163.86 km². It was observed that, the total area of glaciers from 2009 to 2018 decreased by 16.35%, but the numbers of glaciers increased by 73.17%, due to-fragmenting of glaciers in to smaller ones. Where specific glaciers like Hania, Bilare Bange and Baspa Bamak, were analysed they also indicate retreat condition by 32.87 %, 47.24%, and 16.51 % between 2009 and 2018, respectively. Standard deviation of seasonal temperature data of Bioclimatic indicator developed by United States Geological Survey (USGS) was analysed for a period of 30 years (19712000), shows variation from 61.9% to 103.9%, indicating greater variability in the temperature in Baspa sub basin.