India
Govt launches programme to tackle threat of Himalayan glacial lake floods, all 190 high-risk lakes to be monitored | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: The glacial lake overflow (GLOF) in Sikkimwhich took place in October 2023 and claimed 14 lives, has highlighted the vulnerability of the entire Himalayan region to such catastrophic events. This tragedy has prompted the Centre to launch a comprehensive national GLOF risk reduction program targeting 190 high-risk patients glacial lakes spread across four states and two union territories. The Kedarnath disaster in 2013 had created some awareness about the dangers posed by GLOFs, but recent disasters call for greater preparedness.
The program, led by the National Disaster management Authority (NDMA), aims to carry out detailed technical hazard assessments of all high-risk glacial lakes and install automated weather and water level monitoring stations (AWWS) and early warning systems (EWS) in these lakes and in downstream areas.
A GLOF is a type of flood that occurs when water held back by a glacier or moraine is suddenly released. Such outbursts can release millions of cubic meters of water in a short period of time, causing catastrophic flooding in downstream areas with human settlements and critical infrastructure. Climate change has led to the formation of numerous such lakes.
“GLOF risk reduction is a very challenging, long-term task. With changing frequency, duration and intensity (FDI) of heat and precipitation, GLOFs could soon become India’s most challenging natural disaster,” said Safi Ahsan Rizvi, NDMA Advisor (Mitigation) TOI.
The IPS officer in charge, Rizvi, highlighted the NDMA’s coordination mechanism, CoDRR (Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction), to bring all states and central scientific institutions on one platform to implement the ambitious programme, thereby strengthening the ‘whole of government’ approach.
The Rs 150-crore programme, approved in July, is part of the total Rs 12,554 crore approved by the Centre for urban flood management, fire services and other disaster management. efforts for states/UTs.
While there are 7,500 glacial lakes in the Himalayan region, covering Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, NDMA has identified 190 of them as ‘high risk’. The highest 48 are in Himachal Pradesh, followed by 40 in Sikkim, 35 in Ladakh, 28 in Arunachal Pradesh, 26 in J&K and 13 in Uttarakhand.
As part of the programme, all central and state agencies including scientific institutions, Indian Army and ITBP have conducted expeditions to the high-risk lakes to assess the structural stability and possible breaking points of glacial lakes.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has launched a grand challenge to encourage the development of innovative and sustainable indigenous solutions for GLOF, leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, drone technology and satellite IoT for glacial lake surveys, predictive analytics and lake volume calculations.
“The idea is to come up with solutions that can more effectively monitor, analyze, predict and mitigate the risks associated with GLOFs,” an official said.
The program, led by the National Disaster management Authority (NDMA), aims to carry out detailed technical hazard assessments of all high-risk glacial lakes and install automated weather and water level monitoring stations (AWWS) and early warning systems (EWS) in these lakes and in downstream areas.
A GLOF is a type of flood that occurs when water held back by a glacier or moraine is suddenly released. Such outbursts can release millions of cubic meters of water in a short period of time, causing catastrophic flooding in downstream areas with human settlements and critical infrastructure. Climate change has led to the formation of numerous such lakes.
“GLOF risk reduction is a very challenging, long-term task. With changing frequency, duration and intensity (FDI) of heat and precipitation, GLOFs could soon become India’s most challenging natural disaster,” said Safi Ahsan Rizvi, NDMA Advisor (Mitigation) TOI.
The IPS officer in charge, Rizvi, highlighted the NDMA’s coordination mechanism, CoDRR (Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction), to bring all states and central scientific institutions on one platform to implement the ambitious programme, thereby strengthening the ‘whole of government’ approach.
The Rs 150-crore programme, approved in July, is part of the total Rs 12,554 crore approved by the Centre for urban flood management, fire services and other disaster management. efforts for states/UTs.
While there are 7,500 glacial lakes in the Himalayan region, covering Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, NDMA has identified 190 of them as ‘high risk’. The highest 48 are in Himachal Pradesh, followed by 40 in Sikkim, 35 in Ladakh, 28 in Arunachal Pradesh, 26 in J&K and 13 in Uttarakhand.
As part of the programme, all central and state agencies including scientific institutions, Indian Army and ITBP have conducted expeditions to the high-risk lakes to assess the structural stability and possible breaking points of glacial lakes.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has launched a grand challenge to encourage the development of innovative and sustainable indigenous solutions for GLOF, leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, drone technology and satellite IoT for glacial lake surveys, predictive analytics and lake volume calculations.
“The idea is to come up with solutions that can more effectively monitor, analyze, predict and mitigate the risks associated with GLOFs,” an official said.
