Back to news
3 Mar 2017 | Uncategorized

The Karakoram Anomaly: No Change in the Karakoram Glacier Region since the 1970s

1 min Read

70% Complete

Glaciers in most regions around the globe are retreating due to ongoing climate change. But glaciers in the Karakoram region of the Indus River Basin have not seen any significant area or volume change in the past four decades. This phenomenon has been labelled the “Karakoram Anomaly”.

A study recently published by scientists from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and collaborating partners has provided further support for the Karakoram Anomaly, and has extended it back to the 1970s using declassified spy satellite imagery. Previous geodetic estimates of mass changes in the Karakoram revealed balanced budgets or a possible slight mass gain since  2000. Evidence for longer-term stability exists, but few mass budget analyses from before 2000 are available.

“Since at least the 1970s the glaciers in this region have been, on average, neither losing nor gaining mass unlike elsewhere in the Himalaya where glaciers are losing mass,” said Joseph Shea, Visiting Scientist at ICIMOD, and one of co-authors on the study.  The study revisited existing information, and extended the time series back to some of the earliest available satellite imagery. It focused on the Hunza catchment in the central Karakoram where high heterogeneity of glacial behaviour was found in previous studies.

The study, led by Tobias Bolch of the University of Zurich, showed that glaciers in the Hunza River Basin (central Karakoram) were on average in balance or showed slight insignificant mass loss within the period 1973–2009. The study was also able to identify patterns of mass loss and gain for surging glaciers, which are common in the region.  Surge-type and non-surge-type glaciers showed on average no significantly different mass change values. However, some individual glacier mass change rates differed significantly for the periods before and after 2000.

The Karakoram mountain range spans the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Karakoram glaciers, which occupy a large portion of the glacierized area of the Indus Basin, continue to baffle scientists with their unusual behaviour. This study was performed within the Cryosphere Initiative of ICIMOD, with the targeted support of the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

5 Dec 2015 Uncategorized
ICIMOD Becomes an Observer in the IOM Council

ICIMOD became an Observer in the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Council during its 106th Session, which was held ...

11 Apr 2017 Uncategorized
HI-AWARE Wins Gender Award

ICIMOD hosted celebrations at its Kathmandu office on the event of International Womens Day, 2017. The occasion saw various inspiring ...

21 Mar 2017 Uncategorized
Strengthening Arctic-HKH Collaboration

ICIMOD organized two events at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø in January 2017 to better understand and explore the ...

6 Apr 2017 Uncategorized
Chitwan District Government Officials Participate in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Programme

Module two of a certificate programme on climate change, which is part of Chitwan district’s 2073-2074 (2016-2017) annual programme, took ...

6 Apr 2017 Uncategorized
REDD+ Partner in Myanmar Celebrates the International Day of Forests 2017

Hoping to raise awareness about the importance of forests, and provide information on ICIMOD’s REDD+ activities, the Forest Research Institute

28 Mar 2017 Uncategorized
Cryosphere Research Capacity Building in Afghanistan

A training course titled “Application of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the Mapping and Monitoring of ...

14 Dec 2015 Uncategorized
World Water Week 2016: ICIMOD Will be There. Will You?

ICIMOD will be co-convening one of the eight 2016 World Water Week core seminars titled 'Ecosystem degradation and livelihoods: moving ...

22 Mar 2017 Uncategorized
ICIMOD Director General Signs Water Declaration

In late February 2017, David Molden, ICIMOD’s Director General, attended a workshop organized by the Pontifical Academy ...