Changing climate and its impacts over the southern slope of the Himalayas

The great Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain system, is home to millions of people and hundreds of unique species. It has one of the world's largest concentrations of cryospheric components (glaciers, snow, and permafrost). The Himalayas supply continued meltwater to some of Asia’s greatest river systems and play a vital role in the South Asian monsoon environment by guarding theIndian subcontinent from the dry, cold air masses of central Asia and blocking the warm, moist airflow from the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, this water tower has been experiencing rapid changes driven by climate change in recent decades. Changes in this region have had and will continue to have major negative consequences for people living in the area and globally. However, changes in the climate extremes and their consequences have not been understood well yet because of the extreme topography that hinders the establishment and maintenance of monitoring networks. We will introduce some outstanding ongoing research activities in understanding key processes and changes in high-mountain meteorology, climate extremes, and glacier evolution over the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Results suggest that elevation-dependent warming accompanied by rapid glacier retreat is accelerating in the region. In addition, climate extremes are likely to increase with intensifying drought and floods.