A GLOF is a sudden release of water from a glacial lake due to dam failure caused by melting glaciers, landslides, earthquakes, or ice avalanches. It often results in flash floods downstream.
Example: The Kedarnath flood in 2013 was partly caused by a glacial lake breach.
India has over 9,000 glacial lakes, with 200+ considered potentially dangerous. These are mostly located in the Himalayan states like Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Example: The South Lhonak Lake in Sikkim is monitored due to high risk of overflow.
Rising global temperatures accelerate glacier melt, leading to the formation and expansion of glacial lakes, increasing the risk of dam failure.
Example: Melting Himalayan glaciers are enlarging lake volumes every year.
Example: NRSC data helped identify South Lhonak Lake as high risk, enabling preventive planning.
Example: NDMA’s 2020 guidelines recommend using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to predict breaches.
Shared rivers mean upstream GLOFs (e.g., in China or Nepal) can affect Indian regions. Cooperation is needed for information exchange and early warnings.
Example: Lack of timely communication from China about overflowing lakes can delay India’s response time.
Yes, through artificial drainage, siphoning, and controlled breach techniques.
Example: In Sikkim, controlled drainage of South Lhonak Lake has been proposed to reduce risk.
GLOFs can destroy roads, bridges, hydropower plants, and villages.
Example: The 2013 Kedarnath floods destroyed infrastructure and killed over 5,000 people.
Example: ISRO uses SAR to detect deformations in moraine dams.
Example: NDMA recommends district-level disaster plans for GLOF-prone regions.
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