EVENTS DEDICATED TO THE LAUNCH OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF GLACIERS' PRESERVATION
The official launch of the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation took place on January 21, 2025 at the World Meteorological Service (WMO). The High Level Plenary Opening was co-organized by WMO and UNESCO with the support of Tajikistan. Over 50 local side events were conducted as part of the global campaign as well.
The International Year of Glaciers' Preservation highlights the challenges posed to all countries by a shrinking glacier and global cryosphere. By marking the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, the global community will both recognize the importance of glaciers and commit to taking the urgent steps needed to preserve them.
In conjunction with this high-level launch, the online side event "Operational Cryosphere Monitoring Using MODSNOW in Central & South Asia" featured leading experts and scientists from Central and South Asia who presented:
- An overview of MODSNOW and its capabilities.
- Practical use cases of MODSNOW in operational cryosphere monitoring and hydrological forecasting across the region.
Lola Sichugova, Islom Ruziev, Anatoliy Sorokin and Gulnoza Khamdamova participated in this side event on behalf of SIC ICWC.
Ms. Sichugova made a presentation on the “Operational use of MODSNOW at the Scientific Information Centre of Interstate Commission for Water Coordination”. She reported on the results of MODSNOW-based forecasting of water availability in the Vakhsh and Naryn rivers for the growing season 2024. To improve the reliability of flow forecasts and minimize deviations between actual and forecast data, SIC ICWC proposed to improve the methodology by including a snow cover factor for the flow formation zones. This resulted in hydrological forecast models using two major predictors of snow cover and flow of water. These predictors make forecasts more reliable as they reflect major processes contributing to runoff in mountain catchments. Such an approach enables operational and reliable forecasts of river runoff in the context of complex topography and climate change.
The presented reports highlighted the importance of application of advanced RS-based tools in the region, which is highly dependent on cryosphere for formation of its water resources. The participants also discussed ways for the improvement of MODSNOW and its integration with other monitoring tools.
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