Monsoon changes accelerate glacier loss across High Mountain Asia, study finds

The Glaciers of the high mountain Asia lose more than 22 ice gigatons per year – the equivalent of nearly 9 million Olympic swimming pools, according to research from the University of Utah and Virginia Tech. The impact of a climate of warming on the glacial loss is indisputable – this new study provides the first proof that seasonal changes in precipitation and snow schemes, in particular monsoons from South Asia, also exacerbate the merger of glaciers in the region.

“These results underline that the glaciers dominated by the monsoons of South Asia, such as central Himalayas, Western Himalayas and East Himalayas, are particularly vulnerable,” said Sonam Sherpa, assistant professor at the University of Utah and the main author of the study. “If the moment and the intensity of the monsoon continue to modify, it could accelerate the loss of ice and threaten the availability of water for millions downstream.”

High Mountain Asia is known as the “third pole” because it holds the largest glacier ice reserve outside the Arctic and Antarctica. The region’s glaciers feed the lakes and rivers which provide fresh water to more than 1.4 billion people across South Asia and the central, supporting agriculture, hydroelectricity and drinking water.

“For the future, a faster retirement from mountain glaciers will move the main source of flow from the Iron Fonte River to Precipitation, thus increasing the risk of drought in downstream regions for future generations,” said Susanna Werth, assistant professor at Virginia Tech and co-author of the study.

The high glaciers in the southern parts of the central Himalayas accumulate during the summer, rather than in winter. At higher altitudes, cold temperatures transform the annual precipitation of the monsoon into intense snowfall that feeds glaciers. The glaciers withdraw because they receive fewer snowfalls or experience more cast iron than usual. Although warming itself leads to the melting, it also changes rain and snow patterns. This can shorten the precipitation season, reduce the amount of precipitation or cause a passage from snow to precipitation on glaciers, which causes even more cast iron due to less accumulation on glaciers.

Accelerated glacier creation patterns also include significant risks. A faster fusion can increase the probability of lighting flood floods, a growing threat to mountain regions worldwide by backing glaciers in response to climate change. With the risk cascade risks, including landslides and river floods, unstable glaciers can devastate vulnerable communities.

“This risk does not only concern long -term water shortages, but also immediate threats to life and infrastructure,” said Sherpa.

The study was published in the IEEE Journal of selected subjects on applied land observations and remote sensing August 1, 2025.

Melt de Mousson: a widespread phenomenon

The authors used satellite data from the Grace mission sensitive to NASA ice loss of ice, combined with hydrological and meteorological recordings, to assess the effects of a warming climate, modifying the seasonality of precipitation and evolving monsoon models on the fusion of glaciers and the hydrological cycle in high mountain Asia.

The main conclusions of the analysis are:

• In the central and western regions of the Himalayas where glaciers generally increase during the summer, ice losses are associated with an increase in precipitation.
• In the eastern Himalayan regions, ice dynamics could be associated with a drop in snowfall.
• The rehearsal models in the retreat of the glaciers occur at cycles of 3 to 4.5 years and 5 to 8 years, aligning the natural variability of monsoon models. This raises urgent questions about how climate -focused monsoon changes have an impact on the health of long -term glaciers.

Researchers focus on the urgent need of dense and more precise precipitation surveillance networks, snowfall and related climatic variables. Improved observation systems, they say, are essential to predict the impacts of the alterations of the monsoon and guiding adaptation strategies.