Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Department (USDMA) is set to do a vulnerability study of the 13 glacial lake.
- The study aims to provide data to help avoid calamities such as glacial lake outburst floods.
High-Risk Zone
- Five lakes are in the “high-risk zone” among 13 i.e. Darma, Lasaryanghati, and Kutiyangti Valley in Pithoragarh district, and Vasudhara Tal lake of Dhauli Ganga basin in Chamoli district.
- These lakes, range between 0.02 to 0.50 sq. km, are situated at elevations above 4,000 meters above sea level.
Goal Of The Risk Assessment:
- The risk assessment exercise is to minimise the possibility of a GLOFs incident and provide more time for relief and evacuation in case of a breach.
- Rising surface temperatures across the globe, including India, have increased the risk of GLOFs.
- Studies have shown that around 15 million people face the risk of sudden and deadly flooding from glacial lakes, which are expanding and rising in numbers due to global warming.
- After assessing the risk, lakes would be punctured and place pipes inside it
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What are Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)?
- GLOFs are disaster events caused by the abrupt discharge of water from glacial lakes — large bodies of water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.
- Lake Formation: As a glacier withdraws, it leaves behind a depression that gets filled with meltwater, thereby forming a lake.
- The more the glacier recedes, the bigger and more dangerous the lake becomes.
- Such lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed of loose rock and debris.
- In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding in the downstream areas
Triggers for GLOFs
- Glacial calving, where sizable ice chunks detach from the glacier into the lake, inducing sudden water displacement.
- Incidents such as avalanches or landslides can also impact the stability of the boundary around a glacial lake, leading to its failure, and the rapid discharge of water.
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Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand witnessed two significant GLOFs events so far:
- Kedarnath valley: This event happened in June 2013, affecting Kedarnath valley with significant loss of life.
- Chamoli district: This GLOF event occurred in February 2021, causing flash floods in Chamoli district due to a glacier lake burst.
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