Afghanistan’s mid-elevation mountain belts have lost most of their small glaciers; many have degraded into dead-ice patches or rock glaciers. The country’s remaining active ice is concentrated at the highest elevations of the Hindu Kush and Pamir (Wakhan), and these glaciers are small and retreating. Treat low- and mid-elevation, formerly named glaciers across central/western ranges as former ice bodies; expect only residual/debris-covered ice in shaded niches.
Mapping from the late 20th century onward shows near-universal retreat in the Wakhan/Hindu Kush, acceleration after the 1990s, and significant area loss by the 2010s–2020s. In one inventoried sub-basin (Kokcha), glacier area fell ~15% from 1990–2015, with new glacial lakes forming; broader UNEP assessments report ~30% shrinkage of larger Hindu Kush–Pamir glaciers over ~50 years, with many small glaciers disappearing entirely.
PHOTO_YEAR
Description: The 4-digit year of the photograph used for measurements of Afghanistan glacier parameters. Note: If more than one photograph was used, the most relevant year is recorded here; the others are recorded in the REMARKS field. In general, the Afghanistan glacier outlines, and hence, the values for area and length, were determined from Afghanistan aerial photographs, so we recommend using the PHOTO_YEAR for glacier area values.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 1976
MAX_ELEV
Description: Maximum elevation of the highest point of the Afghanistan glacier in meters above sea level, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 3962
MEAN_ELEV
Description: The mean elevation is the altitude of the contour line, in meters above sea level, that halves the area of the glacier, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 3170
MIN_ELEV
Description: The minimum elevation of the lowest point of the glacier in meters above sea level, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 1590
FORM
0 Miscellaneous: Any type not listed below.
1 Compound Basins: Two or more individual valley glaciers issuing from tributary valleys and coalescing.
2 Compound Basin: Two or more individual accumulation basins feeding one glacier system.
3 Simple Basin: Single accumulation area.
4 Cirque: Occupies a separate, rounded, steep-walled recess formed on a mountain side.
5 Niche: Small glacier in a V-shaped gully or depression on a mountain slope; generally more common than genetically further-developed cirque glacier.
6 Crater: Occurring in extinct or dormant volcanic craters.
7 Ice Apron: Irregular, usually thin ice mass that adheres to mountain slopes or ridges.
8 Group: A number of similar ice masses occurring in close proximity to one another but too small to be assessed individually.
9 Remnant: Inactive, usually small ice masses left by a receding Afghanistan glacier.
FRONT_PROF
0 Miscellaneous: Any type not listed below.
1 Piedmont: Ice field formed on a lowland area by lateral expansion of one or coalescence of several glaciers.
2 Expanded Foot: Lobe or fan formed where the lower portion of the glacier leaves the confining wall of a valley and extends onto a less restricted and more level surface.
3 Lobed: Part of an ice sheet or ice cap, disqualified as an outlet glacier.
4 Calving: Terminus of a glacier sufficiently extending into sea or lake water to produce icebergs; includes, for this inventory, dry land ice calving recognizable from the "lowest glacier elevation."
5 Confluent: Coalescing, non-contributing.
6 Irregular, mainly clean ice (mountain or valley glaciers).
7 Irregular, mainly debris-covered (mountain or valley glaciers).
8 Single lobe, mainly clean ice (mountain or valley glaciers).
9 Single lobe, mainly debris-covered (mountain or valley glaciers).
SRC_NOURSH
0 Unknown
1 Snow
2 Avalanches
3 Superimposed ice
TONGUE_ACT
0 Uncertain
1 Marked retreat
2 Slight retreat
3 Stationary
4 Slight advance
5 Marked advance
6 Possible surge
7 Known surge
8 Oscillating
TOTAL_AREA
Description: The total area of the glacier in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
AREA_ACY
Area Accuracy Ratings
Rating | Accuracy (%)
1 | 0 - 5
2 | 5 - 10
3 | 10 - 15
4 | 15 - 30
5 | > 30
AREA_IN_ST
Description: The total area of the Afghanistan glacier that resides in the political state concerned in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
AREA_EXP
Description: The area of the exposed ice of the glacier in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
MEAN_WIDTH
Description: The mean width of the Afghanistan glacier in a horizontal projection in kilometers.
MEAN_LENGT
Description: Mean length of the Afghanistan glacier in a horizontal projection in kilometers.
MAX_LENGTH
Description: Maximum length of the Afghanistan glacier in kilometers measured along the most important flowline in a horizontal projection.
MAX_LEN_EX
Description: Maximum length, in kilometers, of the exposed ice of the glacier in a horizontal projection.
MAX_LEN_AB
Description: Maximum length, in kilometers, of the ablation area of the Afghanistan glacier in a horizontal projection.
Source: World Glacier Inventory
Map Copyright CCCARTO 2024