Centre speeds up work on early warning systems for 188 Himalayan lakes

New Delhi: The Centre is stepping up efforts to set up early warning systems (EWS) across 188 critical lakes in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) that are vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The push has gained urgency following the devastating floods that have killed more than 600 people on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border.

Between 1990 and 2018, the number and surface area of glacial lakes increased 53% and 51%, respectively, a government official said, citing scientific studies.

"While these water bodies are often strikingly beautiful, they represent a growing hazard. (As many as) 15 million people worldwide live under the threat of GLOFs, and more than half of this exposed population resides in just four countries - India, Pakistan, Peru and China," the official explained.


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Recent incidents of GLOFs that triggered catastrophic flooding include the South Lhonak GLOF in Sikkim on October 4, 2023, and Nepal's Thyanbo glacial lake on August 16, 2024, which devastated the village of Thame in the Khumbu Region. "Together, these incidents highlighted that GLOFs are not isolated or localised phenomena - they are part of a broader pattern of cryosphere-linked disasters in the Hindu Kush Himalaya," the official said.

Leading earth sciences institutions such as NRSC, CWC, GSI, ICIMOD, UNDP, SDC and NSIDC have mapped more than 7,500 glacial lakes across the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus basins. Many of them pose increasing downstream risks.