State of Indian Northwestern Himalayan lakes under human and climate impacts: A review

Abstract

The Himalayas are dotted with a multitude of freshwater lakes of varying sizes. These lakes serve as the sole source of water for multiple major human settlements in the region and a backbone to socio-economic services. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the available literature on hydro-ecology of important lakes in the Indian Northwestern Himalayas (INWH). Numerous studies have been performed in the past but are reported in regional journals, scientific reports of government research institutions and local conference proceedings with a very few publications in the international journals. We attempt to synthesize the available scientific knowledge in view of topography, climate, hydrology, water quality, land use land cover (LULC), sedimentation, climate change, and other anthropogenic influences. Our review reveals that INWH lakes are adversely affected by multiple anthropogenic influences including, population growth, LULC modifications and deforestation, urbanisation, intensified agricultural, wastewater disposal, excessive freshwater abstraction, and tourism. It is leading to a widespread decline in water quality and adverse impacts on the ecological status of lakes across the INWH region. Signals of climate change impacts are also reported in the region, evident as a significant reduction in precipitation and warming of temperature in historical records, along with projections of an increasing rate of change in future climate. Sustainable management of INWH lakes to preserve their unique hydroecological attributes will require integrative limnological studies that include climate, hydrology, water quality, and ecology. It will provide a body of evidence for developing conservation practices and policies to protect the INWH lakes, prioritise restoration activities, and sustain their role as socio-economic assets. The studies need to prioritise long-term field-based limnology research and high-frequency, high-density monitoring stations while developing practices and policies to alleviate the immediate threats from LULC, water abstraction, and human perturbances.