Ice in retreat: Dry winters, vanishing snow push Kashmir’s glaciers to the brink
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Abid Bashir
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18 Dec 2025
Prolonged dry seasons, rainfall deficit, declining snowfall accelerates melt
Srinagar, Dec 18: Kashmir’s glaciers are melting not only because the world is warming but also because the Valley itself is growing drier. Successive rain-deficit seasons and shrinking winter snowfall have weakened the Himalayan ice that feeds Kashmir’s rivers, pushing glaciers into rapid retreat and placing the region’s long-term water security at risk.
Scientific studies show that Jammu and Kashmir has already lost nearly 25 to 30 per cent of its glacier mass over the past six decades, while almost all remaining glaciers are currently experiencing net melting. Researchers warn that the situation has worsened in recent years as dry winters and prolonged rainless spells reduce the snow cover essential for glacier survival.
Meteorological data shows that Kashmir has faced significant rainfall and snowfall deficits in recent seasons, including winters marked by extended dry spells and delayed snow events. Scientists explain that snowfall acts as a protective blanket, reflecting sunlight and replenishing glacier mass. “Its absence leaves glaciers vulnerable, the data suggests.
A senior professor at the Earth Sciences department at the University of Kashmir said that less snow means less accumulation and more melting. “Our studies clearly link recent glacier retreat to declining snowfall and rising temperatures. Dry seasons accelerate ice loss even in higher-altitude zones,” he said.
Satellite-based assessments by ISRO reveal that glaciers in J&K are thinning at an average rate of 0.3 to 0.5 metres of ice annually, a pace that increases during years with low precipitation.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment warns that continued dry trends, combined with warming, could lead to irreversible glacier loss across the region. The Kolahoi Glacier, the largest in the Kashmir Valley and a critical source of the Jhelum River, has lost nearly one-fourth of its area since the 1960s. Researchers say reduced snowfall in recent decades has exposed the ice surface for longer periods, hastening retreat.
“Kolahoi is a textbook example,” the professor at the KU Earth Sciences department said. “When winter snow fails, the glacier enters the melt season earlier and exits later. Over time, this imbalance becomes fatal.”
The impact of shrinking glaciers is no longer confined to high mountains. Recent years have seen unusually low water levels in the Jhelum, coinciding with dry winters and erratic rainfall. Scientists caution that while initial melting may increase short-term flows, sustained glacier loss ultimately leads to reduced summer discharge, precisely when water demand peaks.
The ICIMOD assessment warns that even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C, the Himalayan region could still lose one-third of its glaciers by the end of the century. Under current emission and precipitation trends, losses could exceed 60 per cent. For Kashmir, scientists say, the warning is written not just in rising temperatures but in empty skies and silent winters.
Hidden far above the Valley, the melting glaciers may remain out of sight, but experts caution their retreat will soon be felt everywhere—from rivers and farms to taps and turbines—unless urgent action is taken to slow the warming and adapt to a drier Himalayan reality.
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