Over 27% increase in glacial lake area among 55 glacial lakes in India since 2011: CWC
New Delhi: Water spread area of glacial lakes within India has increased by over 27 per cent between 2011 and July 2025, according to a report that analysed 55 glacial lakes. The Monthly Monitoring Report of Glacial Lakes and Water Bodies in the Himalayan Region, July 2025 released by the Central Water Commission (CWC) said the total inventory area of glacial lakes within India rose from 1,952 hectares in 2011 to 2,496 hectares in July 2025. The analysis covered 100 glacial lakes (GLs) located within India across Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Of these, 58 glacial lakes showed growth in water spread area in July 2025. "There is a 27.87 per cent increase in area. (Out of 100 GLs, only 55 GLs were considered for this interpretation. The remaining lakes include 40 Supraglacial Debris Cover (SDC) lakes which have no inventory details as well as lakes which were not analysed/have been merged during the month of July, 2025," the report said.
State-wise, the lakes identified for vigorous monitoring include Ladakh (8), Jammu and Kashmir (7), Himachal Pradesh (5), Uttarakhand (6), Sikkim (28) and Arunachal Pradesh (4). The CWC's monitoring also found that the total area of glacial lakes and water bodies in the Himalayan region increased from 5,29,116 hectares in 2011 to 5,61,014 hectares in 2025, reflecting a 6.03 per cent overall rise. The monitoring was conducted using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery processed through the Google Earth Engine platform, classified the lakes based on changes in their water spread area, greater than 40 per cent, up to 40 per cent, no change, decrease, or not analysed due to factors such as cloud cover or frozen conditions. The report was prepared by the Morphology and Climate Change Directorate of the CWC under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, as part of its ongoing assessment of glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayan region. Under its expanded monitoring network, the CWC observed a total of 2,843 glacial lakes and water bodies during July 2025. These include 581 glacial lakes located within India and 1,360 in the trans-boundary region, covering the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra basins. Among the Indian glacial lakes newly monitored under the Glacial Lake Atlas 2023, the combined water spread area increased by 7.74 per cent, from 11,963 hectares in 2021 to 12,890 hectares in 2025. In the trans-boundary region, the area rose by 5.77 per cent, from 44,409 hectares to 46,971 hectares over the same period. In July 2025, 471 glacial lakes within India displayed an increase in water spread area.
