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How do glaciers affect the flow of the Indus River?

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Physical map showing the Indus River basin and its drainage network across parts of Pakistan, India, China, and Afghanistan. The map details river courses, tributaries, canals, dams, irrigated and marsh areas, sand regions, and elevation changes with shaded relief. International, disputed, and control boundaries are marked, and a small locator map in the corner shows the basin's position within South Asia. — Indus River The Indus River basin and its drainage network.

Glaciers play a vital role in the hydrology of the Indus River, serving as a primary source of its water supply alongside melting snow and monsoon rains.1

In the upper reaches of the river, particularly between its confluence with the Shyok River and the Kohistan region, the Indus is fed by massive glaciers located on the slopes of the Karakoram Range, the Nanga Parbat massif, and the Kohistan highlands. Tributaries such as the Shyok, Shigar, and Gilgit rivers carry this glacial meltwater directly into the main stream.2

This glacial contribution is essential to the river's flow, especially in the mountainous regions where precipitation often falls as snow. However, the region is currently experiencing the impacts of climate change, which has led to glacial decline and unpredictable weather patterns that affect the river's flow and the surrounding environment.13