Nepalese disaster officials announced on Tuesday ( Sep 3 ) that India is installing high-tech warning systems at nearly 200 Himalayan glacial lakes at risk of bursting their banks. This is a deadly threat that is made worse by climate change.
India’s Himalayas contain at least 7, 500 glacier lakes, many of which pose threats of dangerous flash floods.
In a three-year mission, Indian national disaster management authority ( NDMA ) teams are aiming at 190 high-altitude lakes that are deemed to be the most dangerous.
” We have now made significant strides in limiting dangers”, Safi Ahsan Rizvi, a top NDMA national directing the vision, told AFP.
Water that has been collected in former glacier beds is suddenly released in a glacial lake outburst flood ( GLOF).
These rivers were created by the retreat of glaciers, a trend that is only ever occurring due to the rise in temperatures brought on by human-caused climate change.
In the northern state of Sikkim, where at least 77 people died in a storm in October 2023, one mission is already installing early warning systems around six high-risk rivers.
” We have done 20 lake so far, and will total 40 this summertime”, Rizvi said.
The job will also address lake ‘ “lowering river levels” from accumulated ice and water.
Teams include researchers from the military and many government authorities, including the Indian Space Research Organisation, geologists, hydrologists, computing engineers and wind specialists.
Eventually, India’s air pressure is expected to join the mission by flying heavy equipment into far-off places.