About INARCH

INARCH is a cross-cut project of the GEWEX Hydroclimatology Panel (GHP) and a contribution to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme to: i) consistently measure and understand high mountain atmospheric, hydrological, cryospheric, biological and human-water interaction processes; ii) improve their prediction as coupled systems; and iii) diagnose their sensitivities to climate change and propose how they may be managed to promote water sustainability under global change.  Cross-cutting Projects within GHP are focused activities that address specific science questions. Through CCs, GHP achieves a number of objectives: it addresses the GEWEX Science Questions; evaluates and applies the knowledge developed in RHPs; keeps completed RHPs involved; generates interactions between RHPs; and provides a tool for collaboration with other GEWEX Panels and WCRP activities.

INARCH began as a GHP cross-cutting project in 2015 and since then has grown to a network of over 50 research scientists with wide-ranging expertise from around the world, and 38 experimental research basins in 17 countries covering key mountain regions on most continents.  The network reached the end of its first 5-year term (2015–2020), making important advances in understanding and predictive modelling of the high mountain water cycle, and contributing significantly to multiple international science initiatives, organizations, and other stakeholders. A second phase of the network (2021–2026) has been proposed and is commencing.