Aashna Sharma
Shrinking Streams, Rising Risk: Snow Trout Facing 26 % Habitat Loss by 2070
A comprehensive study led by Dr. Aashna Sharma and her team at the Wildlife Institute of India, published in Ecological Indicators, warns that snow trout (Schizothorax spp.), a flagship coldwater fish of the Himalayas, could lose over 26% of its habitat by 2070 due to climate change. Using an unprecedented ensemble of 72 statistical models, the study forecasts that rising temperatures will render most lower-altitude Himalayan streams uninhabitable, pushing the species into a "high-altitude squeeze."
The study, part of India’s National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and funded by the Department of Science & Technology, emphasizes that snow trout, already listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, faces multiple threats: river damming, invasive species, destructive fishing, and now, climate-induced habitat loss. Without habitat connectivity, even higher altitudes may not serve as refugia.
The researchers call for urgent transboundary conservation action, reduction in hydropower-driven river modification, and increased focus on climate science and green energy development, particularly in the rapidly warming Himalayas. This is one of the most extensive efforts in India to model freshwater species’ response to climate change, and it signals the need for regional policy cooperation between India, Nepal, and Bhutan to safeguard aquatic biodiversity.