New Indo-European project CryoSCOPE to improve climate predictions and water security in the Himalayas

Indian and European scientists have announced CryoSCOPE, a collaborative research initiative to study glaciers, snow, water and related climate hazards in the Himalayas. The project coincides with the United Nations’ International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025–2034).

CryoSCOPE brings together four Indian institutions – IIT-Madras, University of Kashmir, IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Roorkee – with European partners. It aims to improve observations and forecasts of cryosphere-atmosphere-hydrology dynamics by combining advanced monitoring, modelling and artificial intelligence.

“CryoSCOPE addresses critical challenges in quantifying and forecasting cryosphere changes,” said Rakesh Hooda, Coordinator, Finnish Meteorological Institute. “The project will generate open-source data and tools for wider scientific and policy use” he added.

India’s Himalayan glaciers are retreating at nearly twice the rate observed two decades ago. Researchers caution that this trend threatens water availability for millions of people and raises the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides and droughts.

To address these concerns, CryoSCOPE is establishing a long-term research site in the Chalong Catchment, Ladakh. The site will monitor glacier mass balance, snowpack, permafrost, proglacial lakes, aerosols, weather conditions and downstream hydrology. “Integrated, catchment-scale measurements are critical for improving climate models and water predictions,” said Chandan Sarangi, Associate Professor, IIT-Madras and Principal Investigator of the CryoSCOPE Indian consortium.

The project, co-funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, will support hazard risk assessments, water resource planning and hydropower management. Around 25 scientists from India and Europe are involved in the initiative.

By generating high-resolution data and predictive tools, CryoSCOPE is expected to strengthen adaptation strategies for communities in the Western Himalayas and provide evidence-based inputs for climate policy.