SOS from the Himalayas: Kolahoi Glacier shrinks by 30% in 33 years

Srinagar, Dec 14: Kashmir’s frozen lifelines are slipping away.

The Valley’s Himalayan glaciers, led by the Kolahoi, which are the primary source of its rivers and irrigation systems in the region, have shrunk dramatically as warming winters and falling snowfall cut meltwater to rivers, farms, and ecosystems, pushing the region toward a mounting water and climate crisis.

Eminent earth scientist and Vice Chancellor of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Prof Shakil Ahmad Romshoo said, “The Kolahoi Glacier has been retreating rapidly over the past several decades.”

Scientific observations show that it has lost nearly 30 percent of its area between 1992 and 2025, with the highest recession recorded in the last decade.

Romshoo said the retreat is closely linked to weakening winter precipitation.

“Kolahoi has recorded a negative mass balance of over 1 metre every year from 2014 to 2025. As snowfall declines, the glacier receives less accumulation and releases less meltwater during summer and autumn,” he said.

According to him, reduced meltwater is already affecting surface water, groundwater, agriculture and wetlands.

Romshoo warned that Kashmir’s cryosphere is approaching a critical threshold.

“The continued retreat of Kolahoi and other glaciers increases the valley’s vulnerability, threatening water security, agriculture and ecological stability, particularly if winter snowfall continues to decline,” he said.

Managing Director Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Mahmood Ahmad Shah, who served as Director Tourism in the past and is a mountaineer who trekked to Kolahoi several times, said the glacier’s deterioration is visible on the ground.

“The thickness of the glacier has reduced sharply. Crevasses and exposed rock that were once rare are now common across Kolahoi’s surface,” he said, attributing the changes to global warming and declining forest cover.

The retreat, scientists say, extends well beyond Kolahoi.

A geologist at the National Institute of Hydrology, Jammu, Riyaz Ahmad Mir, said, “Glaciers in Kashmir have shrunk by an estimated 15 to 20 percent in recent decades – one of the highest retreat rates in the Himalaya outside the Karakoram.”

Mir said Kolahoi itself has fragmented into smaller, disconnected ice bodies and that its snout has retreated nearly 2.85 km since 1857.

“More than 60 glaciers in the Lidder basin are retreating, and as meltwater declines, summer flows in the Lidder, Sindh, and Jhelum rivers drop significantly,” he said, affecting drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower potential.

With the mountains remaining largely snow-free in mid-winter, farmers say the situation is becoming increasingly worrying.

Abdul Rashid, a farmer from Sursuna in Anantnag, said, “Last year we barely managed. This year, with no snowfall at all, we again fear drought-like conditions.”

Another farmer from Khudwani in neighbouring Kulgam district echoed the concern.

“If there is no snow in winter, glaciers melt faster and finish early. By June our fields are without water,” he said.

Trekkers have also observed rapid changes in upper catchments.

Those familiar with the Sheshnag and Warwan regions say glaciers like Kanital, a major source of the Warwan Nallah, have shrunk dramatically in the past decade, affecting downstream settlements.

Experts warn that shrinking glacier-fed streams are reshaping entire ecosystems.

“Reduced meltwater alters river temperature, disturbs trout habitats, dries wetlands, and affects alpine meadows,” Mir said. “The changes also impact high-altitude wildlife, including the snow leopard and Himalayan brown bear.”

The effects are increasingly visible at lower elevations.

Wildlife officials have recorded a rise in bears and leopards entering human settlements, particularly in areas where natural water sources and forest food chains are drying up.

Environmentalists caution that human activity is intensifying the risks associated with glacial retreat.

“These rivers naturally shift course, but construction within their active zones and along riverbanks leaves communities exposed. Even a minor cloudburst can be devastating,” said an environmental expert, pointing to commercial structures along the major streams in upper reaches of Kashmir.

The expert cited past disasters – the 1962 Nunwan cloudburst that killed 50 people and the 2014 floods linked to a cloudburst in the Vaishaw Nallah - as reminders of the consequences of weakening natural buffers.

With winters turning warmer and drier, scientists and farmers alike fear another year of shrinking rivers and rising agricultural stress unless urgent steps are taken to restore forests, protect riverbanks and strengthen climate resilience.