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ICIMOD 2025 Report Highlights Decline in Snow Persistence Across Ganga, Indus & Brahmaputra River Basins.

International | Dated: 22 Apr 2025

In April 2025, the Kathmandu (Nepal)-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) released the HKH Snow Update Report 2025, highlighting a significant decline in snow persistence across the Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra river basins in the Indian subcontinent.

🎯 Key Highlights:

  • - The report is based on a 23-year time series (2003–2025) analysis of basin-scale snow persistence during the November to March snow seasons. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, which sustains these major rivers, recorded its third consecutive below-normal snow year in 2025.
  • - According to the report, snow persistence was 23.6% below normal, marking the lowest level in the past 23 years. This decline poses serious concerns for water availability in the region.
  • - Snow Persistence refers to the number of days snow remains on the ground after snowfall. It plays a critical role in maintaining the water supply, river flow, and ecological balance in snow-fed regions like the HKH.

💡 Other Important Facts:

  • (i) The HKH Snow Update Report 2025 reveals alarming trends in snow persistence across major South Asian river basins. In the Ganga Basin, snow persistence peaked at +30.2% in 2015 but sharply declined to a 23-year low of just 24.1% in 2025, posing threats to early-summer river flows. Similarly, the Indus Basin, which saw a peak of +19.5% in 2020, experienced a drastic drop to -24.5% in 2024 and further plummeted to -27.9% in 2025, marking its lowest in two decades.
  • (ii) In the Brahmaputra Basin, snow persistence that peaked at +27.7% in 2019 steadily declined to 27.9% in 2025. This trend raises concerns over the region’s water-dependent sectors like hydropower generation and agriculture. Meanwhile, the Tibetan Plateau, known as the source of many North Indian rivers, saw snow levels plunge from a significant +92.4% in 2022 to a worrying -29.1% in 2025, highlighting its growing climate vulnerability.
  • (iii) Other regional basins have also shown sharp reductions. The Mekong Basin recorded the most severe drop at -51.9%, closely followed by the Salween Basin at -48.3%. The Yangtze River Basin (Vangtze) also showed a notable decline at -26.3%. These findings underscore the regional scale of snow loss and its potential implications for water security, agriculture, and ecosystems across Asia.

📚 Test Your Knowledge:

Which organization recently released the 2025 Snow Update Report highlighting the decline in snow persistence across the Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra basins?

Correct Answer: ICIMOD

🚀 Quick Recap:

About International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

  • Director General (DG) : Pema Gyamtsho (Bhutan)
  • Headquarters : Kathmandu, Nepal