CR
Cryospheric Sciences
Person with jacket and glasses

Himanshu Kaushik

Himanshu Kaushik is a PhD scholar in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India. His research focuses on the Chhota Shigri Glacier in Himachal Pradesh, studying how local winds influence glacier microclimates, including their effects on temperature, precipitation, and heat exchange – key factors in glacier melt. Through extensive fieldwork and analysis, his work aims to unravel the impacts of climate change on Himalayan glaciers and their hydrological systems. Contact Email: kaushikhimanshu77@gmail.com; Follow on X: @HIMANSH88833232; Instagram: @stories_of_the_himalayas

Field notes from the Chhota Shigri Glacier: A journey of science and survival in the Himalaya

January 10, 2025
Weather station on the snow
Figure 1: First-ever automatic weather station installed in the accumulation zone at 5218 m a.s.l. on the Chhota Shigri Glacier (Credit: Himanshu Kaushik).

I’m Himanshu Kaushik, a PhD student working under the guidance of Dr. Mohd Farooq Azam at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (India). Seven years ago, I took my first steps onto the Chhota Shigri Glacier (CSG) in the Indian (Western) Himalaya, and it felt like stepping into another world. Surrounded by the towering peaks, it seemed otherworldly and humbling. After that first expeditio ...[Read More]