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The Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) characterizes the hydrometeorological variability across the north Indian region and contributes more than 75% of the annual rainfall during the monsoon (June–September) season. In the present study, we analysed the long-term monsoon rainfall for the Ganga River basin to investigate its spatio-temporal variability. A statistically increasing (10 to 17 mm/year; p < 0.05) trend has been observed in ISM rainfall for the mountainous region since 1980, accompanied by increased temperature. We further note that high, very high and extreme rainfall events are also increasing, enhancing the flash flood risk in the mountainous region. In contrast, the ISM rainfall in the alluvial region is observed to be statistically decreasing (−5 to −20 mm/year; p < 0.05) with the combined influence of reduced vegetation. These findings provide valuable insights into the variations in regional hydrology of the Ganga River basin caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow is an essential resource present in the Himalaya. Therefore, monitoring of the snowfall changes over a time period is important for hydrological and climatological purposes. In this study, variability of snowfall from 1976-2008 were analysed and compared with variability in temperature ( T and T) from 1984-2008 using simple linear regression analysis and Mann-Kendall test in the Satluj Basin. The annual, seasonal, and monthly analyses of average values of snowfall and temperature ( T and T) have been carried out. The study also consists an analysis of average values of annual snowfall and temperature over six elevation zones (<1500 to >4000 m amsl). During the study, it was observed that the snowfall exhibited declining trends in the basin. The snowfall trends are more sensitive to the climate change below an elevation of 4000 m amsl. Over the elevation zones of 3000-3500 and 4000-4500 m amsl, positive trends of mean annual values of snowfall were observed that may be due to higher precipitation as snowfall at these higher elevations. Although, both negative and positive snowfall trends were statistically insignificant, however, if this decreasing trend in snowfall continues, it may result in significant however, changes in future. Furthermore, the T is also increasing with statistically significant positive trend at 95% confidence level for November, winter season, annually as well as for the elevation zones of 2500-3000, 3000-3500, and 3500-4000 m amsl. There are dominantly increasing trends in T with negative trends for February, June-September, monsoon season, and for elevation zone <1500 m amls. It is important to state that in the present basin, during the months of winter season, most of the precipitation is produced as snowfall by the westerly weather disturbances. Thus, the declining nature in snowfall is concurrent with the positive trends in temperature particularly T, therefore, reflecting that the positive trends in T may be the dominant factor besides T in controlling the snowfall trends. The snowfall data were also compared with SCA and this showed a highly positive correlation of 0.95% which validates the utilisation of time series of snowfall for the trend analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we evaluate the impact of changing land use/land cover (LULC) on the hydrological processes in Dal lake catchment of Kashmir Himalayas by integrating remote sensing, simulation modelling and extensive field observations. Over the years, various anthropogenic pressures in the lake catchment have significantly altered the land system, impairing, inter-alia, sustained biotic communities and water quality of the lake. The primary objective of this paper was to help a better understanding of the LULC change, its driving forces and the overall impact on the hydrological response patterns. Multi-sensor and multi-temporal satellite data for 1992 and 2005 was used for determining the spatio-temporal dynamics of the lake catchment. Geographic Information System (GIS) based simulation model namely Generalized Watershed Loading Function (GWLF) was used to model the hydrological processes under the LULC conditions. We discuss spatio-temporal variations in LULC and identify factors contributing to these variations and analyze the corresponding impacts of the change on the hydrological processes like runoff, erosion and sedimentation. The simulated results on the hydrological responses reveal that depletion of the vegetation cover in the study area and increase in impervious and bare surface cover due to anthropogenic interventions are the primary reasons for the increased runoff, erosion and sediment discharges in the Dal lake catchment. This study concludes that LULC change in the catchment is a major concern that has disrupted the ecological stability and functioning of the Dal lake ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The spatial and temporal distribution of δ18O and δD measurements of precipitation and stream waters were used to distinguish various sources and components of stream flow and to estimate their residence times in snow dominated mountainous catchments of Kashmir Himalaya. A marked spatial and seasonal variability of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen was observed in precipitation with δ18O and δD varied from −12.98‰ to −0.58‰ and −74.5‰ to −11.1‰, respectively during the period from November 2007 to January 2009. The seasonal changes in stable isotopes of precipitation with depleted and enriched 18O and 2H in January/March/May and July/September/November, respectively at each site are attributed to the seasonal changes in ambient temperature, precipitation, source of moisture and airmass trajectory. The mean altitude effect of −0.23‰ and −1.2‰ per 100m change in elevation for δ18O and δD, respectively, was observed based on amount weighted mean precipitation isotopic composition data. Unlike precipitation, less variability of stable isotopes of streams was found with δ18O and δD ranging from −11.56‰ to −6.26‰ and −65.4‰ to −36.4‰, respectively, the depleted values being observed in the headwaters of the streams/tributaries and enriched values at lower elevations of the watersheds. The LMWL established for the Kashmir Himalayas, based on amount weighted monthly samples is δD=7.59 (±0.32)×δ18O+11.79 (±2.07) (r 2 =0.96) with lower slope and intercept than GMWL, is very close to the LMWL for the western Himalayas. The seasonal regression lines suggest the effect of evaporation with lower slopes and intercepts except in winter. The results suggest that the winter precipitation (snow) dominantly contributes the annual stream flow with average snowmelt contribution of about 29% in early spring, 66% in late spring, 61% in summer while the baseflow contribution is found in the order of 40% in autumn season. The mean stream residence times (MRTs) varied from 6 to 12.4months. The longer MRT of the Liddar catchment is attributed to its complex topography and larger area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]