India launches flood warning systems at Himalayan glacial lakes

India is setting up high-tech warning systems at nearly 200 Himalayan glacial lakes at risk of bursting their banks, a deadly threat exacerbated by climate change, disaster officials said Tuesday.

India's Himalayas contain at least 7,500 glacial lakes, many of which pose risks of dangerous flash floods.

Teams from India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) are targeting 190 high-altitude lakes deemed to be the most dangerous in a mission slated to take three years.

"We have already made significant strides in mitigating risks", Safi Ahsan Rizvi, a senior NDMA official directing the mission, told AFP.

A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is the sudden release of water that has collected in former glacier beds.

These lakes are formed by the retreat of glaciers, a naturally occurring phenomenon turbocharged by the warmer temperatures of human-caused climate change.

One expedition is currently working to install early warning systems around six high-risk lakes in the northeastern state of Sikkim, where at least 77 people died in such a flood in October 2023.

"We have done 20 lakes so far, and will complete 40 this summer," Rizvi said.

The project will also include "lowering lake levels" of accumulated water and ice slush in lakes.

Teams include experts from the army and multiple government agencies, including the Indian Space Research Organisation, geologists, hydrologists, computing engineers and weather specialists.

India's air force is also expected to join the mission later, flying heavy equipment into remote sites.

The mission will cover the Himalayan regions in India, from Kashmir and Ladakh in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast, many in areas bordering China.

Climate change is driving the disappearance of glaciers, with half the Earth's 215,000 glaciers projected to melt by the end of the century, even if warming can be capped at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.