Himalayan glacial lakes noticed 10.81 per cent space enlargement from 2011 to 2024: Report

NEW DELHI: Glacial lakes and different water our bodies throughout the Himalayan area noticed a ten.81 per cent enhance in space from 2011 to 2024 attributable to local weather change, signalling a heightened danger of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), in keeping with a authorities report. The Central Water Fee‘s (CWC) report, which was accessed by PTI, states that with a 33.7 per cent enlargement of the floor space, the lakes in India skilled an much more substantial rise.
“The whole stock space of glacial lakes inside India was 1,962 hectares through the 12 months 2011 which has elevated to 2,623 hectares through the 12 months 2024 (September). There’s a 33.7 per cent enhance in space,” the report mentioned.
It additionally recognized 67 lakes in India that witnessed an over 40 per cent enhance in floor space, putting them within the high-risk class for potential GLOFs.
Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh confirmed essentially the most notable expansions, signalling a heightened danger of GLOFs and the necessity for intensified monitoring and catastrophe preparedness.
Glacial lakes and different water our bodies throughout the Himalayan area noticed an general space enhance of 10.81 per cent from 5,33,401 hectares in 2011 to five,91,108 hectares in 2024 attributable to local weather change, the report mentioned.
The fast enlargement of those lakes is attributed to accelerated melting of glaciers attributable to rising temperatures within the area, with doubtlessly extreme penalties for downstream communities, infrastructure and biodiversity, it mentioned.
Bodily, the shrinking of mountain glaciers and enlargement of glacial lakes are amongst essentially the most recognisable and dynamic impacts of local weather warming on this setting, it mentioned.
“Due to this fact, beneath such a altering setting, an in depth watch on the relative change in water unfold space of even smaller lakes has change into very essential on this area,” the report mentioned.
The sudden and infrequently catastrophic floods happen when glacial lakes breach their pure moraine dams, releasing giant volumes of water downstream.
The CWC burdened that the elevated water unfold of those lakes calls for rigorous monitoring and pressing danger administration methods.
To beat challenges in monitoring these distant lakes, a senior official mentioned, the CWC has leveraged superior satellite tv for pc expertise, significantly the Sentinel-1 Artificial Aperture Radar (SAR) and Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery that allow exact and all-weather monitoring.
“The high-resolution capabilities of those satellites permit CWC to detect adjustments in lake dimension with 10-metre accuracy, even in difficult situations resembling cloud cowl. This monitoring expertise is crucial in offering well timed updates on the state of those high-risk lakes, thereby enabling early interventions when crucial,” the official mentioned.
The CWC report additionally underscored the transboundary dangers posed by increasing glacial lakes in neighbouring nations, together with Bhutan, Nepal and China.
Given the interconnected nature of river basins throughout the Himalayan watershed, collaboration with these nations is essential to managing the potential impacts of GLOFs, it underlined.
The report referred to as for joint monitoring efforts and information sharing to construct a extra complete danger evaluation and mitigation technique.
It highlighted the pressing want for worldwide and regional cooperation in creating early warning programs, enhancing catastrophe administration plans, and selling neighborhood consciousness initiatives to safeguard weak populations.
The implications of space enlargement of glacial lakes lengthen past flood dangers and may affect water availability within the area’s main river programs, together with the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus.
Utilizing information from 2011 and drawing comparisons with 5 and 10-year averages, the CWC’s report recognized patterns of glacial lake enlargement that permit authorities to pinpoint high-risk areas.
The official cited above mentioned with its dedication to lowering monitoring intervals and bettering information precision, the CWC goals to ascertain a sturdy system for early detection and response to the evolving challenges posed by the Himalayan glacial lakes.