INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
DEHRADUN: A field research study carried out by a professor of Kumaun University has revealed the existence of 77 new glacial lakes in the
Gori Ganga region of the Kumaon Himalayas
The water bodies, located at an elevation of over 3,500 metres, formed over 3 years-- between 1990 and 2020-- due to diminishing of
snow-covered areas.The Gori Ganga area mainly includes Milam, Gonkha, Ralam, Lwan and Martoli glaciers
The biggest glacial lake, with a 2.7 km size, was found in Gonkha
Any future geological activities can cause the lake to burst, setting off a flash flood, the research study mentioned.There are a number
of other glaciers, too, which are tributaries of the main glacial bodies, stated Devendra Parihar, teacher of location at the Nainital
campus of Kumaun University
It was discovered that by the year 2020, a total of 77 glacier lakes (with sizes over 50 metres) were formed
Of these, the maximum, 36 lakes, are present in Milam, seven lakes in Gonkha, 25 in Ralam, 3 in Lwan and six lakes in Mertoli glacier
Both the diameter of glacier lakes and formation of new lakes are increasing quickly in all glacier regions, Parihar said.The teacher
informed TOI that the Gori Ganga watershed, which was his research study area, experienced serious flash floods in the last 10 years,
causing big losses to residential or commercial property and farming lands
The research study was carried out using GIS (geographical information system), remote noticing and satellite photos, which was followed by
ground trothing (information collection at the site after field trips)
The professor likewise went to Milam and Gonkha glaciers as part of the research.Due to frequent floods, several villages in the Gori Ganga
valley location, consisting of Toli, Lumti, Mawani, Dobri, Baram, Sana, Bhadeli, Dani Bagad, Sera, Ropar, Seraghat, Bagichabgarh, Umadgarh,
Bangapani, Devibaghd, Chhodibaghd, Ghattabaghd, Madkot and Talla Mori, have been declared disaster-prone by the district administration.In
November 2021, the year a flash flood in Chamoli killed around 200 individuals, the Uttarakhand catastrophe management department had inked
an MoU with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing to perform a satellite-based mountain threat evaluation, consisting of monitoring of
glacial lakes, glaciers and landslides zones and avalanche-prone areas in Uttarakhand
Based on a price quote of the catastrophe management department, there are over 1,000 glaciers and over 1,200 small and huge glacial lakes
in the greater mountainous region of Uttarakhand.When glacial lakes burst, they produce a glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), a stream of
fast-moving ice, water and particles that can quickly damage settlements downstream
The Chamoli flash flood is believed to have been set off by one such glacial outburst
A high-altitude synthetic lake was formed in Chamoli after the flood, potentially by the water that sped down the Alaknanda river after the
glacier burst.According to a current study by a group of researchers from the UKs Newcastle University, 15 million individuals worldwide are
at the risk of flooding activated by glacial lakes
The greatest of those exposed to the risk, around three million people, are from India, followed by Pakistan, Peru and China.
