Why in news
With the monsoon season setting in, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Department (USDMA) is set to do a vulnerability study of the 13 glacial lakes, five of them in “high risk zone” from the coming month.
The study aims to provide data to help avoid calamities such as lake outbursts.
Glacial lakes
Glacial lakes are formed in depressions on glaciers or in moraines left by retreating glaciers.
They take shape as glaciers carve out the landscape through erosion and then melt, filling the depressions formed by their movement.
Glacial lakes are classified into four main types
Moraine-dammed (water dammed by moraine)
Ice-dammed (water dammed by ice),
Erosion (water dammed in depressions formed by erosion),
other glacial lakes
Associated issues
Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) : refers to the sudden release of a significant amount of water from a glacier-dammed lake, often triggered by events like avalanches, earthquakes, or glacier melting
Infrastructure Damage
Ecosystem Disruption
Agricultural Losses
Human Vulnerability
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