Correlating Climatic Shifts With Snow Cover Dynamics Of Hunza And Nagar Districts Using Geospatial Techniques

Abstract

Pakistan is contributing to GHG emissions slightly however, under the massive impact of Climate Change. The cryosphere of Pakistan involves Hindukush, Karakoram, and Himalayan (HKH) mountain ranges, the source of water for river Indus and its tributary running towards the lowland rivers. The Snow cover area(SCA) has a paramount significance, any disturbances can lead to disasters and catastrophes. Keeping everything in mind, a study has been conducted to assess SCA of Hunza and Nagar distircts from MODIS snow cover area product and linkage with climatic data including temperature maximum, minimum and rainfall. The results direct a diminishing trend of the SCA of these districts. The annual temperature is increasing by one degree Celsius. The precipitation shows increasing trend over years. Years 2021 and 2022 are under influence of triple-dip La Nina. The correlation analysis of SCA with all parameters displays a positive correlation with rainfall and a negative with temperature. The conclusion drawn from this study shows a rise in temperature leads to the decrease in SCA which can result in flooding risks and water scarcity in low-lying areas.