Analysis of spatiotemporal variation in the snow cover in Western Hindukush-Himalaya region

Abstract

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products were used in this study which covers a period of 2000–2014. Comparison of the SCA derived from MODIS and Landsat NDSI showed a significant correlation, the resultant coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.85. For analyzing the trend in the SCA, the Mann-Kendall test was applied; the results show an increasing non-significant trend in the mean annual SCA with a Sen’s slope value of +16.99 (km²/year), and a significant increasing trend in the winter SCA was identified. The annual mean SCA was 8.92 km² and 564 km² for elevation ranges of 5001–5694 m and 4001–4500 m respectively. The spatial extent of snow cover was maximum in 70°–78.3° slope class and minimum in 30°–40° slope class. The results highlight the MODIS snow cover products’ capability to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of snow cover in complex mountainous watersheds.

Keywords:

• Snow cover extent
• Afghanistan
• climate change
• Indus basin
• Kabul river basin

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The improved MODIS snow data were obtained from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) provided for the entire region of Hindukush-Himalaya. The Landsat-5 and 8 data were collected from the USGS earth explorer website (https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov).