In 2025, the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation and the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034) placed global attention on the accelerating transformation of glaciers, snow, and permafrost. The International Year is accompanied by the establishment of the World Day for Glaciers on 21 March, starting in 2025. These changes are reshaping mountain environments worldwide, with profound consequences for water security, ecosystems, infrastructure, and human safety.

Further strengthening this agenda, on 13 August 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/78/L.99 proclaiming 2025-2034 as the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. Initiated by the Republic of Tajikistan and the French Republic, the decade focuses on international scientific collaboration, research capacity, and evidence-based decision-making in response to glacier mass loss, permafrost degradation, and cryosphere-related natural hazards.

Central Asia stands at the forefront of these challenges. In Tajikistan, where more than 93 percent of the territory is mountainous, climate change, population pressure, and intensifying weather extremes are driving a rise in floods, landslides, debris flows, and glacial lake outburst floods. Across the Pamir, Hindu Kush, Tien Shan, and Karakoram ranges, glacier retreat and expanding glacial lakes pose growing threats to mountain and downstream communities.

Summer University 2026 responds to these urgent realities by strengthening capacity in cryosphere risk understanding and management. The program equips participants with applied knowledge and analytical skills to identify cryosphere-related hazards, understand their physical drivers and cascading impacts, and evaluate risk in the context of climate change, exposure, and vulnerability.

In this context, Khorog State University and the Aga Khan Foundation are organizing the Summer University Program on "Understanding Cryosphere Hazards: Integrating Glaciers, Glacial Lakes, and Permafrost" under the Adaptive and Resilient Communities in their Habitat (ARCH) initiative, financially supported by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The goal of the Summer University is to strengthen applied capacity to assess and manage cryosphere-related hazards in mountain environments by integrating cryosphere science, GIS and remote sensing, and disaster risk reduction and management practice.

The course equips participants with applied knowledge and analytical skills to understand cryosphere-related hazards, their physical drivers, cascading impacts, and management strategies, with a strong emphasis on GIS and remote sensing based analysis and decision support.

• Develop a working understanding of cryosphere hazard processes relevant to Central Asia, including glacier change, glacial lakes and GLOFs, permafrost degradation, and snow- and ice-related mass movements.
• Build practical competence in GIS and remote sensing workflows for hazard delineation, exposure mapping, and risk-informed decisions.
• Apply an integrated DRR/DRM framework to identify feasible mitigation, adaptation, preparedness, and response options for mountain and cold-region contexts.
• Produce an evidence-based, map-supported risk briefing that translates technical analysis into actionable recommendations for planners and practitioners.

The course brings together students, researchers, and practitioners from diverse backgrounds to exchange knowledge and develop interdisciplinary perspectives on cryosphere hazards. By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Explain cryosphere processes, including glacier mass balance and retreat, glacial lake formation, and permafrost thaw, and describe how they generate hazards and cascading impacts.
• Interpret and apply remote sensing products, including optical imagery and DEM-derived terrain metrics, and select appropriate datasets for hazard analysis in mountain terrain.
• Delineate hazard zones for at least two hazard types using transparent GIS workflows.
• Conduct exposure assessments by integrating hazard layers with settlement and infrastructure data.
• Apply vulnerability analysis across social, institutional, and physical dimensions of risk.
• Synthesize hazard, exposure, and vulnerability evidence into an integrated risk narrative and communicate results using maps and a short technical brief.
• Recommend risk reduction and preparedness options with attention to feasibility, uncertainty, and governance constraints in mountain regions.

• Fundamentals of cryosphere hazards, including glacier retreat, glacial lake formation and outburst floods, permafrost degradation, and snow- and ice-related mass movements.
• Remote sensing and GIS foundations for mountain hazards, including data sources, preprocessing, terrain analysis, uncertainty, hazard mapping, and exposure assessment.
• Introductory glacial lake and GLOF assessment, including identification, susceptibility screening, downstream impact pathways, and basic debris-flow modeling.
• Permafrost assessment, terrain controls, infrastructure stability, and nature-based solutions for stabilization and climate resilience.
• Integrated approaches to hazard mapping, exposure analysis, and vulnerability assessment using specialized GIS tools.
• Vulnerability, risk, and disaster management concepts connected to practical applications and prioritization in mountain and cold-region contexts.
• GIS-based analysis and group exercises that connect field data with risk-informed decision-making.
• Field visits that link direct observation of cryosphere processes and hazards with GIS workflows and actionable risk reduction insights.
• Community-based early warning systems that connect satellite monitoring with local management and immediate action.
• Climate-resilient land use planning for high-risk zones, infrastructure decisions, and adaptive governance in mountain development.

The 13-day program is scheduled to take place from 3 to 15 August 2026 at Khorog State University and the University of Central Asia campus in Khorog, Tajikistan. The Summer University can accommodate up to 30 participants between the ages of 22 and 35 with relevant education or experience in GIS, geography, engineering, geoscience, environmental science, social science, disaster risk reduction, climate change, or related disciplines.

The program will be conducted in Russian and English. To facilitate full participation, the Summer University is fully funded: airfare, visa costs, learning materials, accommodation, meals, local transportation, and field visits are covered for selected participants.

The program targets national and international audiences and brings together bachelor's and master's students, early-career researchers, university faculty members, practitioners, and staff from NGOs and development organizations working in related fields.

The program is supported through the ARCH project, implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation and funded by SDC. The initiative is carried out by Khorog State University and the Aga Khan Foundation with technical input and advisory support from Swiss-based academic professionals and project partners.