Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia

Western Asia: Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS was 46.07 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
46.07 1000 ha
Change on year
down 4.0%
Rank
15th
of 26 groups
All-time high
49.85 1000 ha
in 2021
All-time low
34.79 1000 ha
in 2002
Years of data
24
2001–2024

Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia, 2001–2024

010203040502001201220242001: 37.6 1000 ha2002: 34.8 1000 ha2003: 37 1000 ha2004: 48.5 1000 ha2005: 46.5 1000 ha2006: 44.7 1000 ha2007: 45.4 1000 ha2008: 45.6 1000 ha2009: 44.1 1000 ha2010: 42.5 1000 ha2011: 41 1000 ha2012: 37.9 1000 ha2013: 36.9 1000 ha2014: 35 1000 ha2015: 35.8 1000 ha2016: 45.7 1000 ha2017: 48.7 1000 ha2018: 45 1000 ha2019: 42.2 1000 ha2020: 41.8 1000 ha2021: 49.9 1000 ha2022: 48.4 1000 ha2023: 48 1000 ha2024: 46.1 1000 ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis in Western Asia is 46.07 1000 ha, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.0% on the previous year and up 31.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis in Western Asia peaked at 49.85 1000 ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, 34.79 1000 ha, in 2002.

Western Asia ranks 15th of 26 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia, year by year

Annual values for Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia, 2001 to 2024.
Year 1000 ha Change
2001 37.64 1000 ha —
2002 34.79 1000 ha -7.6%
2003 37.04 1000 ha +6.5%
2004 48.48 1000 ha +30.9%
2005 46.53 1000 ha -4.0%
2006 44.72 1000 ha -3.9%
2007 45.37 1000 ha +1.5%
2008 45.58 1000 ha +0.5%
2009 44.08 1000 ha -3.3%
2010 42.48 1000 ha -3.6%
2011 40.96 1000 ha -3.6%
2012 37.86 1000 ha -7.6%
2013 36.93 1000 ha -2.5%
2014 35.02 1000 ha -5.2%
2015 35.8 1000 ha +2.2%
2016 45.68 1000 ha +27.6%
2017 48.7 1000 ha +6.6%
2018 44.99 1000 ha -7.6%
2019 42.18 1000 ha -6.2%
2020 41.81 1000 ha -0.9%
2021 49.85 1000 ha +19.2%
2022 48.39 1000 ha -2.9%
2023 47.98 1000 ha -0.8%
2024 46.07 1000 ha -4.0%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2004 +30.9% 37.04 1000 ha 48.48 1000 ha
2016 +27.6% 35.8 1000 ha 45.68 1000 ha

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 42.69 1000 ha 34.79 1000 ha 48.48 1000 ha 9
2010s 41.06 1000 ha 35.02 1000 ha 48.7 1000 ha 10
2020s 46.82 1000 ha 41.81 1000 ha 49.85 1000 ha 5

Countries ranked near Western Asia

  1. 12 Afghanistan 323.54 1000 ha compare
  2. 13 India 314.76 1000 ha compare
  3. 14 Argentina 272.7 1000 ha compare
  4. 15 Kazakhstan 254.5 1000 ha compare
  5. 16 Nepal 209.99 1000 ha compare
  6. 17 Pakistan 166.47 1000 ha compare
  7. 18 Australia and New Zealand 106.54 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 269 places →

More environment data for Western Asia

All data for Western Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis in Western Asia?
Permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis in Western Asia was 46.07 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis recorded in Western Asia?
The highest recorded value was 49.85 1000 ha in 2021.
What is the lowest permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis recorded in Western Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 34.79 1000 ha in 2002.
How does Western Asia rank for permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis?
Western Asia ranks 15th out of 26 groups with data for 2024.
Is permanent snow and glaciers — area from modis rising or falling in Western Asia?
Over the last ten years it is up 31.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Western Asia data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS in Western Asia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/permanent-snow-and-glaciers-area-from-modis/western-asia/

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About this data

Indicator
Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from MODIS
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
269 places, 6,390 data points, 2001–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Land Cover data under the Agri-Environmental Indicators section contains land cover information organized by the land cover classes of the international standard system for Environmental and Economic Accounting Central Framework (SEEA CF). The land cover information is compiled from publicly available Global Land Cover (GLC) maps: a) MODIS land cover types based on the Land Cover Classification System, LCCS; b) The European Spatial Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) annual land cover maps produced by the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL)-Geomatics and now under the European Copernicus Program; c) The annual land cover maps which were produced under the European Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) (CGLS land cover, containing discrete land cover categorization), with spatial resolution 100m; and d) the WorldCover maps of the European Space Agency, produced at 10m resolution.