Himalayan snow at 23-year low, threatening 2 billion people: report

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 22: Snowfall in Asia’s Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) mountain range has dropped to its lowest level in 23 years, posing a serious threat to the water security of nearly two billion people who depend on snowmelt, scientists warned in a report released yesterday. 

Stretching from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the HKH region holds the largest reserves of ice and snow outside the Arctic and Antarctica. It is a critical source of freshwater for a quarter of the global population.

According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), researchers observed a sharp decline in seasonal snow across the region. Snow persistence—defined as the duration snow remains on the ground—was found to be 23.6 percent below normal, marking the lowest level recorded in more than two decades.

“This trend, now continuing for a third consecutive year, poses a direct threat to the water security of nearly two billion people,” ICIMOD stated in its latest Snow Update Report.

The report also highlighted broader concerns, including the risk of reduced river flows, growing dependence on groundwater, and heightened vulnerability to drought.

Lead author Sher Muhammad noted that “this year, snowfall began unusually late in January and remained below average throughout the winter season.”

Several countries across the region have already issued drought warnings, with upcoming harvests and access to drinking water at risk—especially in areas already grappling with longer, hotter, and more frequent heatwaves.

ICIMOD, an intergovernmental organization composed of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, urged its member countries to strengthen regional cooperation and adopt urgent measures. These include improved water management strategies, enhanced drought preparedness, better early warning systems, and long-term resilience planning.

The report singled out the Mekong and Salween basins—the two longest rivers in Southeast Asia that provide water to China and Myanmar—as having lost nearly half of their snow cover.

ICIMOD’s Director General, Pema Gyamtsho, emphasized the need for policy shifts to tackle the long-term consequences of declining snowfall:
“Carbon emissions have already locked the HKH region into an irreversible cycle of recurring snow anomalies,” he warned.

According to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization, Asia is the region most affected by climate-related disasters. It recently reported that five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat ever recorded.

AFP