Long-Term Monitoring of Snow Cover Extent and Land Surface Temperature to Understand the Warming of Mountains in a Semi-urban Location of Northwestern Himalayas

In the mountainous region, snow has a significant impact. Snowmelt is essential for the Himalayan ecosystem and inhabitants to recharge streams and groundwater. The majority of the rivers and perennial streams that originate in the Himalayas rely on the seasonal snow cover for the consistency of their discharge. The current study aims to monitor the snow cover extent in the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, India. Many studies have found that in Himachal Pradesh, snow cover extent (SCE) is declining, and this declining trend appears to be a factor in the summer season water scarcity. In the present study, for snow cover extent, we used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite Snow Cover Daily Global 500 m (MOD10A1.006) data and land surface temperature (LST) using MODIS satellite’s Terra Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Daily Global 1 km (MOD11A1.061) data. The annual mean SCE and LST were derived and processed using Google Earth Engine and GIS environment during 2011–2021. The actual snow cover extent snow cover map was prepared for October. The snow cover maps revealed that snow cover extent was lowest in the year 2020 and 2016 (i.e., 5.82% and 6.41% of the total area) and highest in the year 2018 (i.e., 29.36%), and annual day land surface temperature for the year 2016 was the highest (i.e., 15.05 °C). According to our findings, there is a negative correlation between land surface temperature and snow cover extent, indicating that snow cover could be accelerated by an increase in LST, which could pose a serious threat to those who lives in the mountainous region. Snow cover has a significant impact on the energy balance of the continental surface, and in hilly regions, snow is an essential component of water management. Therefore, the present study will help researchers working in Indian Himalayan region to understand the snow melt and land surface temperature of the region.