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Posted 05 Apr 2024

2 min read

  • State Government of Uttarakhand has constituted two expert teams to evaluate risk posed by 5 potentially hazardous glacial lakes in the region.

 

  • GLOF: GLOF is a term used to describe a sudden release of water retained in a glacial lake that can be located in front, at the side, underneath, within, or on top of a glacier. e.g., GLOF in Sikkim (Oct 2023) triggered by bursting of South Lhonak Lake.
    • GLOFs are recognized as a potential climatological disaster in National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) 2019 of India.

 

  • GLOF vulnerability in India: Includes Himalayan states and UTs such as Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.
    • In 2021, Geological Survey of India found 13 out of 486 glacial lakes in Uttarakhand to be vulnerable to GLOFs.

 

  • Reasons for GLOFs
    • Geological: Earthquake, breach of moraine dams, etc.
    • Morphological: Mass movement into glacial lakes, water seepage through glacial structures, etc.
    • Physical: Excessive precipitation, Cryoseism (non-tectonic seismic event of the glacial cryosphere), etc.
    • Anthropogenic: Climate Change and global warming, etc.

 

  • Strategies to manage GLOF risks: Hazard risk zonation and mapping, monitoring of glacial lakes using remote-sensing, GIS technology, etc., restrictions and regulations of construction activities in hazard-prone areas, etc.
  • Tags :
  • GLOFs
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