Government monitoring 2,485 glacial lakes in Himalayan river basins; 56 classified as very high risk

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday said it is monitoring 2,485 glacial lakes having an area of more than 10 hectares across the Indian Himalayan river basins using remote sensing techniques.

The government also said it has classified 56 glacial lakes as "very high risk" based on a scientific assessment carried out in 2025.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors the glacial lakes across four states and two Union Territories during the period from June to October every year using remote sensing techniques.


He said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with national scientific agencies, carried out a scientific assessment of 189 high-risk glacial lakes across the Indian Himalayan Region during 2025.

"Based on the assessment, 56 glacial lakes were classified as very high risk considering their potential to trigger Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and the exposure of downstream habitations and infrastructure," the minister said.

Choudhary said based on the findings of the GLOF hazard assessments and glacial lake monitoring, the government has initiated the establishment of GLOF Early Warning Systems (EWS) at selected high-risk glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayan Region.

He, however, said that at present no end-to-end GLOF EWS has been commissioned under the National GLOF Risk Mitigation Programme (NGRMP).

The minister said the NDMA is implementing the NGRMP, approved in 2024 in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at an approved cost of Rs 150 crore.

"The programme envisages Hazard and Risk Assessment, Monitoring and Early Warning Systems, site-specific structural and non-structural mitigation of measures, and community awareness and capacity building," he said.

Choudhary said Rs 52.50 crore has been earmarked under the Monitoring and Early Warning System component of the NGRMP.

He added that the NDMA, in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA), conducted multi-agency expeditions to the high-risk South Lhonak and Shako Cho glacial lakes in Sikkim during 2023 and 2024 to facilitate scientific investigations and the development of appropriate monitoring, early warning mechanisms and mitigation measures. PTI