NEW DELHI, 31 Aug: A fortnight-long study was launched on Saturday to evaluate the volume, depth and longitudinal profile of six high-risk glacial lakes in Sikkim, according to the officials.
\nBeing conducted at the behest of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the glacial lake susceptibility assessment study will help characterise the physical dimensions of the lakes using a bathymetry survey, they said.
\nThe study will perform a geophysical assessment of the moraine dam to evaluate its stability and potential risk factors using an electrical resistivity tomography survey and ground penetrating radar.
\nThe objective of this expedition to Mangan district is to conduct a detailed susceptibility assessment of the high-risk Tenchungkha, Khangchung Chho, Lachen Khangtse, Lachung Khangtse, La Tsho and Shako Chho glacial lakes.
\nIf time permits, a rapid assessment of a few other lakes will also be attempted, the officials said.
\nThe expedition will make a slope stability assessment of the glacial lake to assess mass movement hazards.
\nThe high sensitivity of glaciers to changing climate is leading to widespread glacier retreat across the globe.Glacial lakes are rapidly growing in number and area as a direct consequence of this glacier recession.
\nThese lakes pose a significant risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF). These floods can be catastrophic and threaten lives, property, critical infrastructure, and the environment.
\nSikkim was impacted by a glacial flood event on 4 October, 2023, from the South Lhonak Glacial Lake, severely impacting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and the fragile ecosystem.
\nThe state is yet to recover from the catastrophic effects of this GLOF as it has crippled the road infrastructure, hydropower development and the tourism economy, the officials said.
\nUnlike other disasters, such as earthquakes, cyclones, cloudbursts and landslides, GLOF disasters can be prevented.
\nReducing the water volume in glacial lakes is crucial to mitigate the risk of GLOFs, which can be achieved through structural and non-structural measures.
\nAs per the assessment carried out by the NDMA, there are 189 high-risk glacial lakes in India, of which 40 are in Sikkim alone.
\nThese lakes are located in remote, high-altitude areas with complex topography and frigid climate. (PTI)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI, 31 Aug: A fortnight-long study was launched on Saturday to evaluate the volume, depth and longitudinal profile of six high-risk glacial lakes in Sikkim, according to the officials. Being conducted at the behest of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the glacial lake susceptibility assessment study will help characterise the physical dimensions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-247543","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}