Himalayan Snow Crisis Threatens Water Security for Two Billion People

A dramatic drop in Himalayan snowfall has triggered a regional water security crisis, threatening the lives and livelihoods of nearly two billion people across Asia. 

According to the HKH Snow Update 2025, seasonal snow persistence across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) has dropped to a 23-year low. Snow persistence is now 23.6% below normal. If the usual average is around 80%, this means it dropped to about 61% in 2025. This sharp decline means faster melting and more early-season water stress for downstream communities. This is the third consecutive year of significant snow deficits. The region’s 12 major river basins, including the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween, are all experiencing reduced snow cover, with some basins such as the Mekong and Salween losing over 50% of snow cover. 

Snowmelt from the Himalayas is critical for spring river flows, replenishing groundwater and powering hydropower projects like China’s Three Gorges Dam. But less snow means diminished river flows, stressed agriculture, declining hydropower output, and worsening drought conditions. Snow typically accounts for about 25% of total runoff, and deficits now threaten to alter water cycles across Central and East Asia. 

Scientists warn that this is not a one-off anomaly, five of the past six years have recorded below-average snowfall. Climate change factors such as rising global temperatures, including a weakened La Niña and increasingly erratic El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) patterns, are exacerbating the crisis. 

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) urge immediate action: regional cooperation, science-led water policy, seasonal water storage, and efficient meltwater use. Without urgent intervention, climate-induced disruptions could ignite widespread socio-political instability across the Indo-Pacific region. 

“Carbon emissions have already locked in recurrent snow anomalies,” says ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho. “We need a paradigm shift in water governance and climate adaptation.” 

Feature image: Snow cover persistence anomaly during November 2024–March 2025 (compared to historic observations during the reference period 2003–2024). Credit: HKH snow update 2025, ICIMOD

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