Expert Teams to Assess High-Risk Glacial Lakes of Uttarakhand

• 28 Mar 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the Uttarakhand government has formed two teams of experts to conduct a risk assessment and survey of five glacial lakes in the state that are highly vulnerable to "outburst floods".

Key Points

• It has been proposed that the teams will start their work on these lakes in May-June 2024.
• Of the 188 glacial lakes in Himalayan states, 13 are located in Uttarakhand.
• Uttarakhand in February 2021 saw a glacial lake outburst in Chamoli district that washed away a small hydel project on the Rishiganga and caused flash floods, killing many people.
• The 13 glacial lakes of Uttarakhand have been categorised as 'A', 'B' and 'C', with 'A' being highly sensitive.
  • Out of the 13 glacial lakes in Uttarakhand, Five fall in category 'A'(highly sensitive), four in category 'B' (sensitive) and four in category 'C' (relatively less sensitive).
    • Out of the five highly sensitive lakes, four are in Pithoragarh district and one in Chamoli, and of the four sensitive lakes, two are in Pithoragarh and one each in Chamoli and Tehri.
• The first team consisting of experts from the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee; the Geological Survey of India, Lucknow; the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun; the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority; and the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre will assess the sensitivity of two glacial lakes.
  • The work of the first phase will entail satellite data study and data collection, bathymetry and area survey.
• The second team headed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, as the lead technical agency and consisting of the Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Remote Sensing; the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology; the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority; and the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre will study and survey the other three glacial lakes falling in the 'A' category.

The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing

• It is an institute for research, higher education and training in the field of remote sensing, geoinformatics and GPS technology for natural resources, environmental and disaster management.
• The institute was established in the year 1966 under the Indian Department of Space.
• It is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)

• It is a type of catastrophic flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails, releasing a large volume of water.
• This type of flood is typically caused by rapid melting of glaciers or the buildup of water in the lake due to heavy precipitation or the inflow of meltwater.
• In February 2021, Chamoli district in Uttarakhand witnessed flash floods which are suspected to have been caused by GLOFs.
• Causes:
  • These floods can be triggered by a number of factors, including changes in the volume of the glacier, changes in the water level of the lake, and earthquakes.
  • According to NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority), glacial retreat due to climate change occurring in most parts of the Hindu Kush Himalayas has given rise to the formation of numerous new glacial lakes, which are the major cause of GLOFs.