Presenting the regional cryosphere strategy to chart a coordinated cryosphere monitoring in Hindu Kush Himalaya.

Kathmandu, 3 August 2026 — ICIMOD is pleased to present the regional cryosphere strategy for the Hindu Kush Himalaya, a framework to chart for sustained, standardised, and basin-representative monitoring of glaciers, snow and permafrost across the region.

Why the strategy matters now?  

The HKH holds the largest concentration of ice outside the polar regions. This frozen sphere is critical water source for sustaining mountain ecosystems and livelihoods, serving more than 270 million people in the mountains and over two billion people downstream.

The HKH cryosphere is changing rapidly: glaciers are losing mass at an accelerated rate, snow patterns are shifting later in the year and reducing, permafrost is degrading, and the river flows are becoming increasingly unpredictable. Impact of these changes are intensifying disaster events across the region, events such as glacial lake outburst floods, avalanches, thermokarst, debris flows and landslides are on the rise, with cascading impacts on settlement, infrastructure, water and energy security and food systems. Despite the magnitude of these risks, cryosphere monitoring across the region remains sparse and uneven. For instance, the HKH has an inventory of over 63,700 glaciers, but only 18% of the 38 monitored glaciers meet the World Glacier Monitoring Service’s (WGMS) benchmark standards.

Additionally, major glacierised Himalayan regions remain under monitored. This also means, even if there are data, these data do not provide collective picture of how HKH cryosphere is changing.

The strategy developed by former and current cryosphere experts in ICIMOD proposes a four connected pillars connecting to cross-cutting priorities to monitor cryosphere comprising of:

• Harmonised monitoring of glaciers, snow, and permafrost using standardised methods
• Stronger regional capacity for sustained field and technical work
• The HKH CryoHub, a coordination mechanism for quality assurance and governed access to interoperable data
• Translation of science into services for water and energy planning, hazard preparedness, infrastructure protection, and climate adaptation

These pillars aim to turn fragmented, country-level observations into trusted, shared knowledge to support regional resilience planning and strengthening the HKH’s contribution to global climate action.

The strategy builds on decades of learning about cryosphere change in the HKH region and responds to the need for more connected action across upstream and downstream systems. It aims to strengthen collective understanding of the links between cryosphere change, water security, hazards, and adaptation needs.

Download Strategy Document