Snow Cover Variability in the Beas River Basin and its relation with climate parameters during 2007-2018

In the Himalayan zone, snow is a crucial component of cryosphere for efficient use of water resource management. The major objective of this research paper is to analyse snow dynamics in the Beas River basin using MODIS satellite images from 2007-2018, thus revealing important insights into the region’s snow cover variability and its potential impacts on the hydrological cycle. In this paper, the snow cover area (SCA) analysis has been done for the Beas River basin from 2007-2018 using the 8-day improved snow cover product (version 6) Terra-aqua (MOYDGL06 * ) MODIS sensor images and ERA5 data for winter period i.e., November to April. During the time period, SCA in the region ranged from ~46% (Nov 2016) to ~92% (Feb 2015). SCA and total precipitation were found to be declining at rates of 2.5 km 2 and 52.2 cm, respectively. While the average temperature has been rising from 2007 to 2013 at a pace of 0.14°C. Though, SCA decreased at a faster rate of 20.49 km 2 and total precipitation decreased at a faster rate of 36.2 cm during 2013-2018. In contrast, the mean temperature increased at a higher rate (0.38 °C). The study finds that SCA and precipitation are falling at a faster rate during 2013-2018. The trend derived from satellite data analysis of SCA was found to be consistent with the climate parameters. The study suggests that climate change is likely a major factor contributing to the observed trends in SCA, total precipitation, and mean temperature. The study also notes that the observed SCA trend is consistent with climate parameters. The paper investigates the fluctuations in SCA from November to April.