India has ramped up monitoring efforts in its Himalayan border regions with China and Nepal following devastating floods in Nepal. These floods, attributed to a glacial collapse, have resulted in the deaths of at least 626 individuals, with over 2,000 people reported missing, according to authorities on Saturday.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has also told officials to deploy advanced sensors and early warning systems around vulnerable glacial lakes in the Himalayas, HT reported earlier . The US Geological Survey said the disaster that struck the Tibet-Nepal border on Wednesday was caused by a glacial collapse, which sent a large flow of debris downstream. The exact reason for the collapse remains unknown. However, scientists have warned that climate change is accelerating glacier melt worldwide and increasing the likelihood of such disasters. Officials have been directed to identify areas at risk, prepare maps of zones that could be affected, mark safe evacuation routes, improve communication networks and strengthen local warning systems, as well as relief and rescue preparations. The collapse was powerful enough to be detected as a seismic event and was initially believed to have been an earthquake.
“The surveys will assess the present condition of the lakes, water levels, changes in their size, surrounding terrain, potential hazard factors and the likely impact on downstream areas,” he said.
