FutureWater, in collaboration with Utrecht University, has published Guidelines for Glacio-hydrological Modelling in High Mountain Asia. The guidelines report provides a structured approach for developing glacio-hydrological models in data-scarce mountain environments, building on both practical experience and scientific advances.

High Mountain Asia holds the world’s largest ice and snow reserves outside the polar regions and plays an important role as a water source for Asia’s major river systems, sustaining over a billion people. With changing glaciers and snow cover under global warming, water availability is shifting across seasons and risks of floods and droughts are intensifying. Understanding and modelling these dynamics is essential for managing future water resources. Focused on the Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) model, the guidelines presents best practices for model setup, calibration, and validation, offering stepwise procedures to support climate impact assessments and strengthen water resources management in glacier- and snow-dominated basins.

The guidelines were prepared as part of the project Development of a Glacio-Hydrological Model and Integrated Water Resources Management Plan for the Uttarakhand Subbasin, commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) under the Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation in Himalayas (SCA-Himalayas) program. Implemented between 2021 and 2023 by a consortium of FutureWater, Utrecht University, the University of Geneva, and the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India. The project used the Bhagirathi Basin in northern India as a case study to illustrate the modelling approach.