Spatio-temporal variability of snow cover of Yamunotri catchment, India

Estimation of snow cover area from satellite images is an important task for hydrologists and climatologists. Landsat 8 satellite data of four years 2013 to 2016 for October month is used in this study to check changes in snow cover area in Yamuna river catchment at Yamunotri, India. Normalized Snow Difference Index (NDSI) is used to find snow cover area. Monthly average temperature of Yamunotri catchment for October month for year 2013 to 2016 is obtained from high resolution gridded dataset provided by climate research unit (CRU). It is found that snow area is in inverse relationship with temperature, i.e., it decreases with increase in temperature and vice-versa. Average temperature in October month in the study area is increased by 0.9 degrees C and snow cover decreased by 64% in last four years.