Studies of major glacial lakes in the Arunachal and Sikkim areas bordering China

As part of the national research to prevent glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has started conducting surveys in the Eastern Himalayas to map all the glacial lakes in the country and assess the feasibility of installing early warning sensors and other mitigation measures. The agency is conducting surveys in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the two important areas of the Eastern Himalayas along the border with China.

Sikkim has also sent an expedition of 32 experts to five threatened glacial lakes – Gurudongmar A, B and C, Sakho Chu and Khangchu, all in Mangan district bordering Tibet.

Experts will survey the lakes from August 28 to September 14 at an estimated cost of Rs 32 lakh.

The expedition is being led by State Secretary for Science and Technology, Sandeep Tambe, along with experts from six different departments of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) under the Department of Land Revenue, Mines and Geology, Water Resources, Forests, Science and Technology and research scholars from Sikkim University.

The expedition will also be assisted by the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), with a collective strength of 56 personnel, including drivers and porters…

“We will conduct high-tech studies to understand the geology of the glacial lake, understand the behaviour of glaciers, study the stability of the slopes and the likelihood of avalanches and GLOFs. This study will be conducted at an altitude of 18,000 feet. Once we complete our study, we will come up with a mitigation plan,” said Sandeep Tambe, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Sikkim.

The previous expedition was conducted by NDMA and experts from Switzerland ahead of the South Lhonak Lake outburst in Sikkim in 2023.