{"id":60093320,"date":"2025-08-08T18:05:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T17:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60093320"},"modified":"2025-08-13T16:16:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:16:29","slug":"in-northern-pakistan-indigenous-ice-stupas-offer-a-nature-based-water-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/in-northern-pakistan-indigenous-ice-stupas-offer-a-nature-based-water-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"In northern Pakistan, indigenous ice stupas offer a nature-based water solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pakistan\u2019s far north region of Gilgit-Baltistan, where towering peaks cradle remote valleys, has survived for centuries on a fragile lifeline \u2013 glacial melt<\/a>. But that lifeline is fraying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As global temperatures rise, snowfall \u2013 critical for feeding the region\u2019s water supply \u2013 has become increasingly unpredictable. Meanwhile, population and tourism growth<\/a> has driven the expansion of farmland<\/a> in an attempt to address food security issues. This has put pressure<\/a> on the region\u2019s increasingly limited water resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, locals have turned to a relatively recent regional innovation: ice stupas<\/a>, towering structures that combine indigenous engineering and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique to create them, invented by engineer Sonam Wangchuk in the neighbouring Indian state of Ladakh in 2013, involves piping water from streams which is then sprayed into the cold winter air, freezing thousands of litres of water as artificial glaciers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These glaciers store water for release in the spring, when it is needed mainly for agriculture due to dry conditions causing a lack of precipitation. As temperatures rise in April and May, the structure melts gradually, releasing water for irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amidst insufficient support on water management and conservation, this idea has taken off in Gilgit-Baltistan. But experts warn that it\u2019s not a permanent solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilgit-Baltistan\u2019s unique ice stupas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first ice tower in the region was built in 2019 in the village of Paari in southeastern Gilgit-Baltistan through an initiative by Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Climate Change and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). \u201cI had heard about it but had not seen it myself,\u201d recalls Mohammad Raza, deputy director of agriculture in the city of Skardu, located 60km away. In 2022, he built an ice stupa in Hussainabad village on the outskirts of Skardu with a team of fellow villagers after coming across videos of them being built in Ladakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skardu, at nearly 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level, serves as the main gateway for expeditions to K2 and Nanga Parbat, among the world\u2019s highest mountains. Tourism is a big source of income, though this brings issues<\/a> of increasing water demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring, villagers seeking water usually hike for an hour through a precarious, winding dirt track to reach the site of Hussainabad\u2019s ice stupa and collect it from the melting structure. By the end of May, the spot turns back to its original rocky and arid state, with a sprinkling of tall wild bushes and little trace of the stupa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gilgit-Baltistan structure has been created on a natural slope, unlike Ladakh\u2019s tall sculpture in which water is sprayed vertically above flat terrain, explains Zakir Hussain Zakir, an assistant professor at Karakoram International University in Gilgit, the region\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
Ice stupas such as this one in Gilgit-Baltistan, are massive artificial glaciers, shown here with people standing at its foot (bottom left). In the region, they are created on the side of mountains using water piped from streams at higher elevation (Image: UNDP)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe water in the pipes doesn\u2019t freeze here due to gravity pressure,\u201d says Zakir, who has been studying indigenous solid water storage methods since 2018. For Gilgit-Baltistan\u2019s ice stupas, a pipe is installed at a higher elevation to tap into an upstream water source, usually in the mountains. As the water flows downhill through the pipe, it builds up pressure. This pressure creates potential energy inside the pipe, and when the water is released through a nozzle, it sprays upward like a fountain. In the freezing outdoor temperatures, the water loses its latent heat to the air and freezes, gradually forming a solid structure of ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe slopy elevation and low night temperatures provide the perfect gravity and the right temperature to solidify the stream water,\u201d says Zakir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raza notes that the required infrastructure is minimal and readily available. \u201cAll we need are rubber pipes, a nozzle, connectors, and a sturdy base \u2013 like tall bushes, and a poplar tree or a bamboo pole\u201d to support the nozzle, he says. The main cost has been the 366 metres of piping to bring water from the stream to the tree\u2019s base and to run it vertically along the tree for support, he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first attempt at creating the ice stupa was experimental, using secondhand pipes. \u201cI realised we needed different sizes,\u201d Raza recalls. Posting about his findings on social media, word spread and a UNDP team, already supporting<\/a> Paari village with building its ice stupa, saw the post and aided the Hussainabad team with obtaining the right-sized pipes, he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leafless<\/div>
In Paari, the spring months of April and May bring with them dry conditions and water scarcity. This is an issue for agriculture and subsistence for local people, but the introduction of ice stupas has brought some relief (Image: UNDP)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gilgit-Baltistan experiences a serious dry spell from April-May, notes Amjad Masood, assistant professor at the Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering at Lahore\u2019s University of Engineering and Technology. During this period, precipitation is minimal, while winter snowmelt has not entered full swing. \u201cThis leaves communities with very limited water for drinking, farming, and livestock, just as agricultural activity picks up,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn recent years, climate change has intensified this problem \u2013 with warmer winters, delayed or reduced snowfall, and earlier, faster glacier melt, disrupting traditional water supply cycles,\u201d he adds. \u201cThis seasonal \u2018dry gap\u2019 has become more unpredictable and severe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a permanent solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my childhood, I walked through waist-deep snow,\u201d says Qurban Ali, 62, a retired teacher. Nowadays, snowfall is scarce<\/a> or late and melts quickly, leading to dry fields when crops need water most, he says. With Himalayan glaciers retreating, the growing season is under strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of the ice stupas has come as a relief to 35-year-old farmer Zahra Bano, who owns a 1.5-acre farm in Hussainabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before 2022, \u201cwe struggled with water shortages just when we needed it most \u2013 during sowing season,\u201d she says. \u201cBut the ice stupa changed that. Now, we have water when it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Water<\/div>
Water is sprayed downhill to form this ice stupa in Gilgit-Baltistan. The required infrastructure is minimal and readily available, with just rubber pipes, a nozzle, connectors, and a base of tall bushes, a tree or bamboo pole to support the nozzle, notes Mohammad Raza (Image: UNDP)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These days, with water from the ice stupas, her family can grow a wide mix of crops, including wheat, barley and maize, alongside pears, apricots, almonds, apples and mulberries. On her farm lies a vegetable patch containing onions, potatoes, chilies and tomatoes, amongst other vegetables. Around the homestead, two cows, several goats and a few hens complete the picture of a self-sustaining rural life. \u201cWe only buy groceries four months in a year, otherwise we are quite self-sufficient,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A farmer told<\/a> UNDP that without the availability of water, crops dry up and lose their value. Another said that prior to the introduction of ice stupas to his community, \u201cwe were only able to harvest one crop per season as [a] second crop was not possible due to climate and lack of water\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though families have seen relief from spring drought conditions with the ice stupas, this adaptative measure is not seen by experts as a long-term solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamid Mir, coordinator for WWF-Pakistan\u2019s Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan project<\/a>, notes they \u201care like freezer ice \u2013 seasonal, not a substitute for real glaciers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masood agrees, explaining: \u201cNatural glaciers are massive, long-term reservoirs that regulate water flow year-round and sustain rivers across large regions. Ice stupas, while helpful, are seasonal, small-scale and climate-sensitive, so they can\u2019t replace that function.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is home to over 7,000<\/a> glaciers in its Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayan region, with 41%<\/a> of its river flows coming from glacier melt. However, rising temperatures mean they are in danger of melting: over 3,000 glacial lakes<\/a> have developed in Gilgit-Baltistan, the UNDP states, bringing with them the potential for triggering dangerous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of ice stupas, Mir supports glacier grafting<\/a>, an indigenous practice in Himalayan regions in which ice blocks from two glaciers are fused with water and placed in a shaded, high-altitude crevice to grow into a new glacier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masood points out that long-term water management strategies are the way to go. Beyond natural glaciers, this includes improved irrigation methods to increase water efficiency and reduce water waste, watershed conservation, small-scale water storage infrastructure for snow harvesting, and engineered mountain reservoirs. \u201cIce stupas should complement \u2013 not replace \u2013 these broader, long-term solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As communities wait for such measures to reach them, they have taken matters into their own hands to survive, and their neighbours have been following suit. Since the first ice stupa was built in 2019 in Paari, word spread, and now several villages have adopted them. Zakir notes that 20 villages in Gilgit-Baltistan have already built ice stupas this year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each ice stupa takes three days to complete, but upkeep goes on after construction. Around mid-May as it begins to melt, villagers hike up weekly for inspections. A local committee manages maintenance, rotating duties among volunteers such as clearing stones from landslides and conducting repairs where necessary, creating a sense of shared ownership, notes Zakir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, this may be a simple community-led fix for water scarcity \u2013 but it\u2019s also a striking example of ingenuity in the face of a changing climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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