Retreating Gya Glacier and Expansion of Gya Lake in the Ladakh Region of North-Western Himalaya

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF’s)Glacial lake outburst floods and its associated hazards in the mountainous areas are a matter of great concern worldwide due to ongoing warming climate and glacierGlacier recession. The region has witnessed heavy damages to property, agricultural and other assets during recent years e.g. Gya GLOF event in 2014 is the recent manifestation of the GLOF hazard in this region. The present study has analysed the recent evolution of Gya glacial lake and its mother glacierGlacier using high resolution satellite data sources from 1990 to 2022 and geospatial techniques. The results show that the glacierGlacier (Gya) has lost an area of about 0.4 km2 from 1990 (0.86 km2) to 2022 (0.46 km2), which is about 46% of the surface area. While the Gya glacial lake on the other hand revealed a significant growth in the area from 0.048 km2 in 1990 to 0.11 km2 in 2022, therefore indicating a growth of 126% since the past 32 years. The snout of the Gya glacierGlacier exhibited a considerable retreat during a 32-year period, similar to other glaciers in the Himalayan area. During the years 1990 and 2022, snout of the glacier Glacierreceded by 381 m at an average pace of 11.9 m/yr. The study also identified several potential factors that may have contributed to the rapid expansion of the Gya lake, including glacierGlacier retreat, climate changeClimate change, geology, and geomorphology. The key findings of the present case study have significant implications for the management of glacial lakes in the Himalayan region. The findings of this study will be also useful for decision makers and to formulate the strategies in this direction to mitigate and reduce the risks from hazards associated with glacial lakes. However, an in-depth field-based study for mass balance of the glacierGlacier and to investigate the other geological and geotechnical properties of the moraine-dam sediments impounding the rapidly increasing glacial melt water is highly recommended.