Abstract ID: 3.9373 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

As far as serious hydrological and climatic implications for glacier retreat within the Upper Dhauliganga Basin, Garhwal Himalaya make this study mandatory, the same study analyzes the dynamic Equilibrium Line Altitude behavior from 1994 to 2023 employing multi-temporal satellite imagery including Landsat, DEM data from ASTER GDEM, SRTM, and field validation cross 35 glaciers. The cumulative glacier area has shrunk from 120.803 km² in 1994 to 116.629 km² in 2023 with a net loss of 4.174 km². The maximum retreat was for G079652E30931N at 0.477 km², G079697E30839N at 0.465 km², and G079992E30608N at 0.362 km². It reflects an upward trend, but it varies between 4801 m a.s.l. at G079992E30608N and 5948 m a.s.l. at G079667E30912N. ELA on average increased by 150-200m over the past three decades parallel to regional warming of 0.5-0.7°C per decade and declining precipitation. Some of the examples are: G079652E30931N (5225 to 5305 m asl.), G080072E30610N (5015 to 5125 m asl.), and G079697E30839N (5669 to 5779 m asl.). The low-altitude glaciers exhibit relatively stable mass balance; higher elevation glaciers greatly get impacted with the accelerating process of ablation, so it’s higher by risk factor from GLOFs. The AAR method ranges from 0.58 to 0.50 and is therefore stable, and hence the estimates of ELA proved reliable; the AABR method fluctuates with the glacier morphology between 1.75 and 1.56. The results illustrate the accelerated retreat of the glaciers, reduced meltwater supply, and increased hydrological instability. The research is an important source of information on water resource management, risk assessment, and integration in climate adaptation policies. It further underlines the requirement of high-resolution monitoring of glaciers, which is an important contribution toward Himalayan cryospheric studies for international recognition.