Slowing meltwater to store ice for spring sowing in Ladakh
Retired engineer Chewang Norphel builds low-cost 'artificial glaciers' that freeze winter stream water near Ladakhi villages so it melts in time for spring sowing.
The small thing
Norphel noticed that a tap left running near his home through winter built up a large block of ice, while a fast-flowing stream nearby never froze. He reasoned that slowing water down would make it freeze.
The problem
Farming in Ladakh's cold desert depends on meltwater. Natural glaciers lie far above villages and melt mostly from June, after crops need to be sown, and many nearby glaciers have shrunk. Winter stream water, meanwhile, simply flows away.
Why Chewang started
Norphel, a Ladakhi civil engineer with the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Development Department, saw water shortages at sowing time in villages such as Phuktse. He told Scientific American that water is the region's most precious commodity and that disputes over it divide families.
What they did
In the mid-1980s Norphel built his first ice reservoir at Phuktse. Villagers divert a stream in autumn into shallow, stepped basins held back by stone embankments, often on shaded slopes. Keeping the water only a few inches deep and slowing its flow lets it freeze layer by layer through winter, close to the village and at a lower altitude.
The ice melts earlier than natural glaciers, releasing water in April and May for sowing. According to IANS (2018) he had built 17 such structures; ETV Bharat (2024) reports at least 15. IANS reported the first cost about Rs 90,000.
What changed
A peer-reviewed study led by Heidelberg University (Nüsser et al., 2018) estimated typical ice reservoirs store about 1,010 to 3,220 cubic metres of water and found that, in the best case, fields could be fully irrigated up to three times; local smallholders reported less risk of crop failure. Norphel received the Padma Shri in 2015 (IANS).
What they learned
Norphel describes the method simply as harvesting winter water that would otherwise be wasted, in the form of ice, and stresses that slowing the water is the key.
“It's a technique to harvest winter waste water in the form of ice.”Chewang Norphel, as quoted by The Quint (IANS)
Copy this idea
Practical guidance written by our editors from the sources below. Adapt it to your place, and check local rules and safety first.
- Problem addressed
- Water arriving at the wrong time of year for crops.
- What to do
- Look for ways to store seasonal surplus water near where it is needed: ponds, tanks, ice basins in cold climates, or soil-moisture measures.
- Materials and resources
- Depends on climate: stone, earth and pipes for diversion channels; local building materials.
- Approximate cost
- Moderate
- Skills
- Basic engineering or hydrology advice; knowledge of local water rights and seasons.
- Time
- A season to build; yearly maintenance.
- People needed
- A whole village or water-user group.
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Risks and limitations
- Diverting water can affect downstream users and requires agreement; poorly built structures can fail in floods.
- How to adapt it
- In warmer regions the same idea applies to rainwater harvesting and check dams.
- Lessons learned
- Observe local conditions closely; agree water sharing before building; measure whether it actually helps.
Why it matters
Ice reservoirs cannot replace shrinking natural glaciers. But they show how a simple, locally built structure can shift when water is available, and how adaptation can grow from close observation of local conditions.
What didn't work
The Heidelberg study found storage varies from year to year with weather, that floods, landslides and avalanches reduce effectiveness, and that the reservoirs are not always well integrated into local social arrangements; it described the term 'artificial glacier' as misleading. ETV Bharat reported that seepage into the ground can account for a large share of losses during construction.
Editor's note
A 2024 interview (ETV Bharat, October 2024) described Norphel as 89 and still speaking about the work. Sources give the first ice reservoir as 1986 or 1987. In 2018 he said he hoped younger people would take the work on.
Sources: how do we know?
Evidence level: Documented. Supported by reliable published sources such as UN agencies, award bodies and reputable journalism. Not yet independently re-verified by our editors. What the person says and what independent sources establish are attributed separately in the text.
- reputable journalism
A Himalayan village builds artificial glaciers to survive global warming — Scientific AmericanSupports: Norphel a retired Ladakhi civil engineer; water scarcity and disputes; quotes on water. - reputable journalism
Fighting climate change: How a 'crazy' engineer solved Ladakh's water crisis — The Quint (IANS), 11 March 2018Supports: Rural Development Department; first glacier 1986 at Phuktse; 17 built; Rs 90,000 cost; Padma Shri 2015; method; quote. - reputable journalism
Meet Padma Shri awardee Chewang Norphel, the 'Iceman' of India — ETV Bharat, 24 October 2024Supports: Age 89 in 2024; first glacier 1987 at Shara Phuktse; at least 15 built; tap observation; seepage losses. - peer reviewed
Socio-hydrology of 'artificial glaciers' in Ladakh, India: assessing adaptive strategies in a changing cryosphere — M. Nüsser, J. Dame, B. Kraus, R. Baghel, S. Schmidt, Regional Environmental Change (summarised in Heidelberg University press release), 26 June 2018Supports: Storage volumes; irrigation benefits; limitations and hazards; 'artificial glacier' term misleading. DOI 10.1007/s10113-018-1372-0.