Glacial Lake Outburst Floods: Parliamentary Committee asks J&K, Ladakh to take immediate measures to prevent environmental disaster

Srinagar: Parliamentary Standing Committee has appealed to Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) to take immediate measures to prevent Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Himalayan glaciers are melting rapidly due to climate change, which is the main cause of GLOFs, according to a Parliamentary Standing Committee report. 

The panel has asked MHA to take measures akin to Uttarakhand “so that surveillance, early warning, mitigation as well as the capacity building could be in place to effectively deal with the GLOFs.”

The measures suggested include the implementation of Satellite-based Mountain Hazard Assessment and Monitoring (MHAM), mapping, and monitoring of glaciers and glacial lakes besides coordination with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for establishing an Early Warning System (EWS),

“Melting glaciers have a significant impact on water resources of Himalayan rivers due to change in glacier basin hydrology, downstream water budget, impact on hydropower plants due to variation in discharge, flash flood and sedimentation”, the Parliamentary Panel has observed, adding “they also increase the risk related to glacier hazards due to enhanced number and volume of glacier lakes, accelerated flash flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and impact on agro practices in the high Himalayan region, etc”.

It also noted that “the experiences of the country in the recent past indicate that increasing destruction of the natural forests, constructions works in the name of development of habitations in GLOF prone areas has increased the risk.”

Parliamentary Panel has stressed that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) should conduct training drills with the local communities in Jammu and Kashmir and other Himalayan regions to prepare them to deal with GLOFs in terms of setting up emergency shelters, distributing relief packages, etc. 

Parliamentary Panel has recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs may take up with the concerned Ministries, departments, and the Himalayan States and UTs for restricting construction and development in GLOF-prone areas.

Recently alarming evidence has come to the fore that Jammu and Kashmir are sitting on an imminent climatic disaster. As per a central government report and the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSW), all the 10 glaciers in Jammu and Kashmir are among 39 that are at high risk.

As per the report, these glaciers are melting fast, with a 40 percent increase in their water levels recorded in the last decade.