Uttarakhand govt. to study risk posed by 13 glacial lakes during monsoon
- With the monsoon setting in, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Department (USDMA) will do a vulnerability study of 13 glacial lakes, five of them in “high-risk zone”.
Highlights:
- The study aims to provide data to help avoid calamities such as lake outbursts.
- The Himalayan glaciers were in danger from climate change, and continued checks were required to ensure safety.
- The lakes in Darma, Lasaryanghati, and the Kutiyangti Valley
- The Vasudhara Tal lake of the Dhauli Ganga basin is posing a high risk.
- Teams will start a bathymetry study of the five potentially high-risk lakesy.
- The study will give us correct and accurate information regarding the size of the lakes, how the glaciers were formed, how they are melting, and more.
- The USDMA asked the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to share a report on the status of the five high risk glacial lakes.
Two expert teams
- The State government formed two expert teams to assess the risks associated with these glacial lakes.
- Two major glacial lake outburst floods took place in Uttarakhand in the past decade.
- The first was at the Kedarnath valley in June 2013 which led to 6,000 deaths.
- The other was at the Rishi Ganga Valley in Chamoli in February 2021, which claimed 72 lives.
Prelims Takeaway:
- Glacial Lake
- Ganga Drainage Basin