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5 glacial lakes in Kashmir Himalayas have ‘very high’ flood risk: CM Omar
Responding to a question of party MLA Tanvir Sadiq, Omar Abdullah said that a recent scientific study conducted by researchers from the department of geo- informatics, University of Kashmir and published in the Journal of Glaciology, assessed the susceptibility of glacial lakes to potential GLOFs in the Kashmir Himalayas
Chief minister Omar Abullah on Tuesday candidly admitted that at least five glacial lakes in the Himalayas of Kashmir have “very high susceptibility” to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
GLOF is a high-magnitude catastrophic flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake.
He, however, allayed any apprehensions of any immediately instability in the five lakes.
Responding to a question of party MLA Tanvir Sadiq, Omar Abdullah said that a recent scientific study conducted by researchers from the department of geo- informatics, University of Kashmir and published in the Journal of Glaciology, assessed the susceptibility of glacial lakes to potential GLOFs in the Kashmir Himalayas.
“The study analysed 155 glacial lakes using a set of hydro-geomorphic indicators, including lake expansion rate, stability of their dams and surrounding conditions. Based on these indicators, a small number of lakes, including Bramsar, Chirsar, Nundkol, Gangabal and Bhagsar were categorized under the “very high susceptibility” class relative to other lakes in the region,” he said.
“However, it’s important to note that a lake classified as high susceptibility simply means that, if specific triggering conditions were to occur, it may be more prone to an outburst compared to others. This does not imply that the lake is currently unstable, actively breaching or likely to fail in the immediate future,” he added.
Omar said a preliminary geospatial analysis was conducted to map downstream exposure of glacial lakes, identifying habitations and critical infrastructure along potential flood paths in districts like Ganderbal, Shopian and Kulgam.
According to the study, around 2,704 buildings, nearly 15 major bridges, road segments and at least one hydropower project could be affected in the event of a GLOF.
Highlighting gaps in accurate risk estimation, the study said that precise assessment of GLOFs requires reliable data on glacial lake volumes, which can only be obtained through field-based bathymetric measurements— finding out depth and topography of water bodies—currently unavailable for most Himalayan lakes.
The CM said that work in this direction has already been initiated by researchers.
