Snow persistence in Hindu Kush Himalaya hits record low, 23.6% below normal: ICIMOD report

Snow persistence over the Hindu Kush Himalaya region between November and March this year was 23.6 per cent below normal levels, a record low in the last 23 years. Snow persistence measures the fraction of time snow remains on the ground after snowfall. This marks the third consecutive year of below-normal seasonal snow across the region, a report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said in the 2025 Hindu Kush Himalaya Snow Update. 

On average, snowmelt contributes about 23 per cent to the total yearly



water flow in major river basins. The snow persistence in the Ganga basin this year has been 24.1 per cent below normal, the lowest in the past 23 years, compared to 30.2 per cent above normal in 2015. The reports reveal most alarming decline in snow persistence is in the Mekong region, with a 51.9 per cent decline.

ICIMOD’s Director General, Pema Gyamtsho, said, Carbon emissions have already locked in an irreversible course of recurrent snow anomalies in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.