Decadal evolution of the glacial lakes: a comprehensive study on spatial mapping and dynamics (2000–2020) in Baspa River Basin, India

Recent studies on climate change in the fragile landscapes of the Indian Himalayan region have shown that they are highly susceptible to climate change. Glaciers, snow, and permafrost interact and respond to climate in distinct ways and there is continual concern about current and projected climate change implications. Floods, landslides, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and shifting precipitation patterns are all potential hazards in the Baspa River Basin. These risks have the potential to disrupt the region's socioeconomic fabric and imperil human lives, infrastructure, agriculture, and ecosystems. The study aims to map glacial lakes of the Baspa River basin using medium-resolution (15 m) Landsat satellite images for the year 2020. The study used geospatial methods for instance the normalized difference water index (NDWI) including manual vectorization of lakes using Google Earth imagery to conduct a semi-automatic approach for mapping glacial lakes. In 2020, a total of 42 glacial lakes were identified, each with an area equal to or exceeding 0.25 hectares. Also, the study evaluated the spatial and temporal evolution of lakes from 2000 to 2020 in connection to the changing climate within the river basin. This research provides an essential data repository of glacial lakes and lays the underpinning for long-term evaluation and monitoring of GLOF events in the research area.