Reviving the Wular Lake: tracking its decline with remote sensing and NDWI analysis

Abstract

Wular Lake, one of Asia’s largest freshwater bodies, has undergone significant shrinkage over the past four decades, threatening its ecological stability and local livelihoods. This study examines the lake’s decline using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification, analyzing satellite imagery from 1985, 2000, 2015, and 2024. Findings indicate a reduction in surface area from 90.57 km² in 1985 to 65.33 km² in 2024, primarily due to climate change, urbanization, and excessive water extraction. Satellite altimetry data between 2016 and 2025 reveal seasonal fluctuations in water levels, reinforcing concerns about long-term hydrological instability. These results emphasize the urgent need for integrated water resource management to mitigate environmental degradation. Remote sensing offers a powerful tool for tracking hydrological changes, urging immediate conservation efforts to restore Wular Lake’s ecological balance and sustain communities dependent on its water resources.