Frontal changes in medium-sized glaciers in Sikkim, India during 1988-2018: Insights for glacier-climate synthesis over the Himalaya.

The study assesses terminus retreat of medium-sized glaciers (1988-2018) using geospatial dataset and field study in Sikkim which is under the direct influence of the Indian SW monsoon. It also explores the causes of intra-regional and inter-regional diverse patterns of glacier retreat under the purview of topographical and climatic factors to develop a glacier-climate synthesis over the region. Glaciers have retreated in a range from 63.

Climatic variability at Gangtok and Tadong weather observatories in Sikkim, India, during 1961-2017.

The present study documents the long-term trends in the temperature and precipitation of a poorly represented region, the Sikkim, eastern Himalaya using the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test and the Sen's slope estimator. Additionally, the normal distribution curves and Cusum charts have been used to identify the shifts in extreme events and to detect the points of change in the climatic data series for robust analysis. The minimum temperatures recorded a positive trend in Gangtok (0.