Changing Climatic Conditions Affect Snow Cover in Annapurna Region of Nepal

Authors

  • Susmita Shrestha Environmental Science Program, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
  • Durga D. Poudel Environmental Science Program, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
  • Timothy W. Duex Geology, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
  • Rodney B. Yantis NASA/UL Lafayette Regional Application Center, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/spee1048-5236.4125

Keywords:

Climate change, snow cover, Annapurna Region, GIS

Abstract

Changing climatic conditions affecting the physical environment, hydrology, forest and wildlife, agriculture, and other sectors of the economy has become a major concern worldwide. The Annapurna Range in the Central Himalayas in Nepal is experiencing impacts of climate change on various fronts, including temperature increase and change in snow cover area (SCA). The objectives of this study were to assess spatio-temporal variation in temperature, precipitation, and SCA in the Annapurna massif and establish a relationship between these variables. This study analyzed the daily maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation records of six weather stations in the region, and performed a long-term analysis (1990–2020) of snow cover over Annapurna massif analysing Satellite images from the past three decades provided by satellite 5 through 8 of the Landsat program and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The SCA was determined through Landsat images using the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI). Temperature analysis showed that the northeast (Chame) and northwest (Jomsom) parts of the massif were undergoing a consistent increase in average temperature at the rate of 0.07 and 0.03∘∘C per year, respectively. A north-south gradient was observed in total annual precipitation with total precipitation increasing in Ghandruk and Ranipauwa (Muktinath) at 50 mm and 4.8 mm per year, respectively, and decreasing in Manang Bhot at 4.7 mm per year. The precipitation events increased during spring in the west (Lete), northwest (Jomsom), and south (Ghandruk) of the massif, whereas it decreased in the north (Manang Bhot) and northeast (Chame) for all seasons. The SCA varied from 397 km22 to 1735 km22 with a significantly decreasing trend in December. There was a non-significant SCA increase during March, indicating that more snow coverage could appear in the spring in the future. These results could help local communities, government agencies, tourism industries, and other stakeholders develop resource management plans and climate change adaptation strategies.

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Author Biographies

Susmita Shrestha, Environmental Science Program, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

Susmita Shrestha earned her Master’s of Science degree in Environmental Resource Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA, USA, and Bachelor’s of Science degree in Environmental Science from Kathmandu University, Nepal. She currently works as a GIS Analyst in Tetra Tech. Her research interest lies in climate change studies and water resource management. She is also passionate about the use of GIS and remote sensing technology in resource management.

Durga D. Poudel , Environmental Science Program, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

Durga D. Poudel is a Professor of Environmental Science at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, USA. He received his B.Sc. degree in Agriculture from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, M.Sc. in Natural Resource Development and Management from Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, and Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Dr. Poudel’s professional experience consists of Research Fellow at Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Taiwan; Graduate Research Assistant in Sustainable Agricultural and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; and Visiting Research Scholar, University of California Davis, USA. Dr. Poudel joined the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA, as an Assistant Professor of Soil Science in August 2000. Dr. Poudel is a Board of Regents Professor in Applied Life Sciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. As an Associate Editor, Dr. Poudel has been serving the Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment journal since 2020. He is the Founder of Asta-Ja Framework and the Founding President of Asta-Ja Research and Development Center (Asta-Ja RDC) Kathmandu, Nepal, and Asta-Ja USA.

Timothy W. Duex , Geology, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

Timothy W. Duex has been at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette since 1984 where he is Associate Professor in the School Geosciences. He is a member of several professional societies, including the Lafayette Geological Society, in which he served as President, the American Association of Petroleum Geology, Division of Environmental Geology, where he is Secretary-Treasurer, the Geological Society of America, and the Baton Rouge Geological Society. He is also the University of Louisiana representative since 2001 on the Water Advisory Task Force of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. He teaches courses in Hydrology, Environmental Geology, Mineralogy, Petrology, and Field investigations.

Rodney B. Yantis , NASA/UL Lafayette Regional Application Center, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

Rodney B. Yantis is the Director of the NASA/UL Lafayette Regional Application Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Having a degree in Agriculture and a Master’s in Landscape Architecture: Landscape Ecology/GIS and Remote Sensing, he is the current Board Chair of the National AmericaView program; Director of LouisianaView; State GeoSpatial Contractor to the Louisiana Army National Guard and USGS; and is a member, past President, of the Mid-South ASPRS and member of the Louisiana and Caribbean chapters of URISA working in emergency response since 2001. He hosts training for Natural Disaster and Emergency Response held annually for 22 years. His affiliation with the International Charter for Disaster Response as a Project Manager since 2006 has led to working with Hurricanes Ida, Laura, Delta, Rita, Katrina, Ike, Gustav, Andrew, Florence, Michael, Dorian (to name a few) and Oil Spill response to the DeepWater Horizon, along with flood mapping in Nepal.

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Published

2022-04-04

How to Cite

Shrestha, S. ., Poudel , D. D. ., Duex , T. W. ., & Yantis , R. B. . (2022). Changing Climatic Conditions Affect Snow Cover in Annapurna Region of Nepal. Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, 41(2), 215–240. https://doi.org/10.13052/spee1048-5236.4125

Issue

2022: Vol 41 Iss 2 2022

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Articles