Arunachal Pradesh Glaciers Shrinking Rapidly, Study Finds

nagaland: a study by nagaland university and cotton university has revealed significant glacier retreat in arunachal pradesh over the past 32 years, raising concerns about long-term water security in the region.led by dr. latonglila jamir of nagaland university and dr. nabajit hazarika of cotton university, the study analyzed glacier changes using remote sensing (rs) and geographic information systems (gis) from 1988 to 2020. the findings, published in the journal of earth system science, show that the number of glaciers has declined from 756 to 646, with total coverage shrinking from 585.23 sq km to 275.38 sq km—an average loss of 16.94 sq km per year. smaller glaciers, particularly those under 5 sq km, are retreating faster.dr. jamir warned that glacial retreat could initially lead to short-term flooding and unstable river flows, followed by severe water shortages for communities relying on meltwater. additionally, expanding glacial lakes increase the risk of devastating glacial lake outburst floods (glofs).the study underscores the urgent need for continued monitoring and climate adaptation strategies to safeguard water resources in the eastern himalayas amid accelerating climate change.