Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs): A Growing Himalayan Threat and India's Response
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Disaster Management (GLOFs, Flash Floods), Geography (Glaciers, Glacial Landforms - Moraines), Environment (Climate Change Impacts), Science & Tech (Remote Sensing, SAR Interferometry).
Mains:
GS Paper 1: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps).
GS Paper 3: Disaster and disaster management.
Key Highlights from the News
Increased temperatures and melting glaciers in the Himalayan region are making Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) a major threat.
Recently, a glacial lake outburst in Tibet caused massive flooding in Nepal. The lack of early warning from China was a significant issue.
This highlights the need for trans-boundary collaborations among Himalayan countries.
The Indian Himalayan region has approximately 28,000 glacial lakes. Among these, supraglacial lakes formed on the glacier surface and moraine-dammed lakes formed by weak earthen and ice dams at the glacier snout are particularly hazardous.
Recent major GLOF disasters in India include the 2023 South Lhonak GLOF in Sikkim and the Chorabari Lake outburst which caused the 2013 Kedarnath disaster.
Under the leadership of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India is now shifting its focus from disaster response to risk reduction.
A national program has been initiated to identify 195 hazardous lakes, install automated monitoring stations, implement early warning systems, and ensure community participation.
Scientific methods like Bathymetry and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) are being used for these studies.
COMMENTS