Avalanches recurring phenomenon in JK, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Arunachal: Govt

Avalanches are a recurring natural phenomenon in high-altitude areas such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh and the government is aware of the significant risks they pose to human lives and property, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said automated weather stations and doppler radars have been installed in vulnerable regions to improve forecasting capabilities.

He said that the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) has installed 72 snow meteorological observatories and 45 automated weather stations (AWS) are operational, 100 (AWS) are under testing and 203 (AWS) are under installation.

The data is regularly received from snow observatories at 3 hour intervals and at 1 hour interval from AWS at DGRE. This output and the expert opinion is used to draw avalanche forecast for different areas at least 24 hour in advance, Rai said in a written reply to a question.


He said the government is aware of the hazard of avalanches in the Himalayan regions, which poses significant risks to human lives and property.

"Avalanches are a recurring natural phenomenon/disaster in high-altitude areas such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh," he said.

The minister said the government effectively deploys technologies for improved early warning and forecasting of avalanches in the hazardous zones.

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is a national level agency for avalanche forecasting and is involved in the daily Operational Avalanche Forecasting for Defence users, he said.

Rai said the DGRE, Chandigarh under the DRDO is also the nodal agency for studying and developing avalanche mitigation technologies.

The methodologies include aerial reconnaissance/ ground surveys, which are further used as an input to prepare avalanche hazard maps.

Regular operational avalanche warning is issued by DGRE to the Army and civilian population in the snow bound regions of north-west Himalayas. Additionally, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) supplies six-hourly weather updates to enhance situational awareness, Rai said.