Four decades of Glacier and Glacial Lake dynamics in Kishtwar high altitude National Park, Chenab Basin, Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Himalayan region is experiencing a heightened risk in downstream habitats due to the effects of climate change, which include rapid glacier recession, the formation of glacial lakes and the potential for outburst flood hazards. The present study is aimed at analyzing alteration of three benchmark glaciers (Tanak 1, Tanak 2 and Tanak 3) situated in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP), Chenab basin of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Multi-temporal Landsat data (MSS, TM, ETM + and OLI), high-resolution Indian Remote Sensing LISS IV, and Google Earth™ in conjunction with ALOS PALSAR DEM have been utilized in the study. For the periods 1980–93, 1993-99, 1999–2010, and 2010–21 glaciers in the region have deciphered area change of 0.99 (2.9%), 0.53 (1.6%), 0.59 (1.8%) and 0.88 km 2 (2.75%) respectively. During the consolidated time line of 40 years, the total glaciated area has experienced a reduction of 3.02 ± 2.2 km 2 (0.075 km 2 a −1 ), which amounts to 8.8% shrinkage of glacier area.Glacier recession has given rise to formation and enlargement of moraine dammed lakes. One such proglacial lake (Mundiksar lake) has expanded by 0.258 ± 0.16 km 2 (~ 150%) during 1980–2020. Results further reveal reduction in the surface ice velocity for all the studied glaciers (Tanak 1; − 20.82%, Tanak 2; − 5.29%, Tanak 3; − 12.39%). Based on GlabTop2 model, ice thickness of the three glaciers varies between 10 and 290 m with an average mean ice thickness of 101.78, 87.64, and 80.32 m respectively. Lake volume of the proglacial lake ranges from 0.223 × 10 6 m 3 to 19.275 × 10 6 m 3 and Peak discharge values ranges from 152.51 to 19739.49 m 3 s −1 . The work explicitly is indicative of an ongoing expansion of proglacial bodies of water and glacial recession in the region and allures attention towards its associated threats in the downstream area.