Abstract
Glaciers have a direct relation with climate change. The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is the most useful parameter to study the effect of climate change on glaciers. The ELA is a theoretical snowline at which the glacier mass balance is zero. Snowline altitude (SLA) at the end of melting season is generally regarded as the ELA. Glaciers of Chandra-Bhaga basin in Lahaul–Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh were chosen to study the ELA, using satellite images from 1980 to 2007. A total of 19 glaciers from the Chandra-Bhaga basin were identified and selected to carry out the study of ELA variation over 27 years. This study reveals that the mean SLA of the sub-basin has increased from 5009 ± 61 m to 5401 ± 21 m from 1980 to 2007. The study is in agreement with the reported increase in the temperature and decrease in winter snowfall of North–West Himalaya in the last century.
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