Himalayas

The Himalayas face the threat of a cascading disaster, where a single high-altitude calamity can trigger avalanches, block rivers and unleash flash floods, rapidly magnifying destruction downstream -- a danger laid bare by Nepal's recent catastrophe, said a senior Geological Survey of India official. Therefore, Himalayan hazards cannot be assessed in isolation, he pointed out and stressed the need for combining satellite-based observations with field investigations and ground instrumentation. A case in point is the Nepal disaster that appears to have involved cascading processes. Satellite analysis identified an impoundment near the Langtang Lirung ice-rock avalanche site, with imagery of August 28 showing an approximately 11-hectare water impounded area. This provides evidence that the initial ice-rock failure was associated with temporary obstruction and water accumulation in the river system, said Pradeep Singh, the ADG of Policy Support System at the Geological Survey of ...

The eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim has identified 40 high-hazard glacial lakes, with 16 of them classified as being at the highest risk of catastrophic outbursts that could threaten downstream settlements. The data is significant as it comes against the backdrop of the recent flash flood in Nepal, triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 that left a trail of destruction with hundreds of people dead and scores missing. Though the catastrophe was not linked to a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), the flash flood has highlighted a broader transformation across the Himalayas as glaciers retreat, new lakes are forming in their place, while existing ones are expanding. Glacial lakes are formed by the melting of glaciers and accumulation of meltwater in depressions on or near the glacier's surface. GLOFs occur when these lakes suddenly burst open due to factors such as excessive water accumulation or triggers like earthquakes. These floods can cause ...

The floodwaters have receded, but Nepal's rivers, slopes and habitats may bear deeper scars. What does a debris-heavy flash flood leave behind in one of the world's most fragile ecosystems?

Nepalese authorities on Wednesday urged people living in the central, western, and eastern parts of the Himalayan Nation to remain alert after water levels in three major rivers have crossed their alert levels following rainfall in different parts of the country. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology's Flood Forecasting Division, the Sun Koshi River in Sindhuli district, the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha and the Mahakali River in Dadeldhura were above alert levels as of 6 AM on September 2. The division on Tuesday said that the Marsyangdi River in Lamjung district has crossed the danger mark at the Bhukundebesi water level monitoring centre at 11:15 PM. According to the latest details released by the division, the water level in the Marsyangdi River is still on the rise. With the increase in water flow in the river, the risk of flooding is high. As the water level has crossed the danger limit, people residing in the downstream area are urged to remain alert, ...

The fact that the Himalayas are also a zone of high seismic activity adds to the instability and unpredictability of this phenomenon

Nepal and China discussed monitoring floods and glacier hazards in May, but Nepali officials said limited data sharing left them without enough information to anticipate major disasters

As extreme weather becomes the new normal, filmmaker Shankar Borua's Blue Ocean uses a crime thriller to question the cost of unchecked development in the Himalayas

Changing weather patterns are beginning to leave a mark on the exquisite murals and paintings preserved over centuries in ancient Himalayan monasteries

A nostalgic journey to Kalpa, Mane and Sangla reveals how climate change is remaking the landscape

The tree cover in the 13 states and Union territories of the Indian Himalayan region has shrunk by 2.27 per cent between 2021 and 2023, Union minister Kirti Vardhan Singh said. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the minister said that according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, the tree cover in the region fell from 15,427.11 sq km in 2021 to 15,075.5 sq km in 2023. Singh also said the total carbon stock in the forests of the Indian Himalayan region has been assessed to be 3,273.10 million tonnes in 2023. It stood at 3,272.68 million tonnes in 2021. Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam and West Bengal are part of the Indian Himalayan region. "Forest health is influenced by multiple ecological and biophysical parameters and not merely by the greenness of forest areas," he said. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) collects data on various ...

The Hindu Kush Himalaya, a vital water source for billions in the region, faces a staggering climate financing shortfall, requiring around USD 12 trillion from 2020 to 2050, according to a new regional analysis. According to the report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), current financial commitments are insufficient to address the region's adaptation and mitigation needs. The ICIMOD is an inter-governmental organisation for the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan that stretches for almost 3,500 km. The report estimates the HKH region requires approximately USD 12.065 trillion from 2020 to 2050 for climate mitigation and adaptation, amounting to an annual average of USD 768.68 billion. China and India account for 92.4 per cent of the total projected need. Mobilising the ambitious target of USD 12 trillion is like climbing the Everest of funding, s

A plutonium-packed generator disappeared on one of the world's highest mountains in a hush-hush mission the US still won't talk about

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India has immense potential to become a major destination for winter tourism and lauded the steps taken by the Uttarakhand government in this regard. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, Modi said that while fewer than 2,000 tourists visited Adi Kailash until three years ago, this number has now increased to over 30,000. The prime minister said that several countries have built successful tourism models around winter sports and activities such as skiing, snowboarding, trekking and ice climbing. India, with its diverse landscapes and mountain regions, is well-positioned to develop similar opportunities, he said. The prime minister urged citizens to consider the Himalayas when planning vacations, as the region offers memorable experiences during the winter season. "During these winter days, the Himalayan valleys become a part of an experience that lasts a lifetime. If you are planning a trip this winter, be sure to keep the ..

The state, which turned 25 on Sunday, is doing well on economic metrics, but ecological concerns remain. Indivjal Dhasmana writes

Two members of a Supreme Court-appointed panel on Wednesday warned of Dharali-like consequences if the much-hyped Chardham all-weather road widening project in Uttarakhand is pursued in its current form. They also described the Dharali disaster as a fallout of state authorities ignoring repeated scientific warnings against unregulated construction and tourism activities in the fragile Himalayas. In a letter written on Tuesday to the road transport and highways ministry, senior geologist Navin Juyal and environmentalist Hemant Dhyani said the uniform 10 m widening of the Chardham all-weather road on the valley side slopes both in lesser and higher Himalayas has created multiple new chronic zones along the widened roads. They advocated adopting an alternate DPR submitted by them to the ministry nearly two years ago detailing a flexible and disaster-resilient road widening design that could be followed in the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone (BESZ) which will ensure minimum tree felling a

Temperatures are expected to be two degrees Celsius higher than average across the whole Hindu Kush Himalayan region this summer, according to a new analysis by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The ICIMOD also predicted that India, Nepal, Pakistan as well as China's Tibetan Autonomous Region will receive above-average rainfall. With floods the leading cause of deaths and economic damage in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, and close to three-quarters (72.5 per cent) of all floods from 1980 to 2024 occurring during the summer monsoon season, experts warn disaster agencies and communities to be prepared for a possible rise in climate risks. The forecasts we've studied are unanimous in predicting a hotter monsoon across the entire HKH, with a trend towards higher-than-normal rainfall in major parts of the region, Arun Bhakta Shrestha, senior advisor at ICIMOD, said. Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced ...

Having personally lived in Manali briefly during my childhood, vivid descriptions of the valley and its people particularly spoke to me

The Delhi Weather Centre has warned of worsening cold wave conditions from Wednesday, with wind speeds between 20 and 30 km/h likely to lower temperatures further

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Centre and others in a matter regarding the rapid expansion of the Himalayan glacial lakes, raising concerns over the increasing risk of natural disasters. The NGT took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a news report showing about 10.81 per cent increase of the glacial lakes in the last 13 years due to the rising temperatures. According to the report, the melting of glaciers due to increase in temperature paved way for larger glacial lakes, which held more water and, in turn, increased the risk of natural disasters like floods and landslides. In an order passed on November 19, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said, "The report also notes that the surface area of glacial lakes in India has increased by 33.7 per cent from 2011 to 2024." The tribunal noted the report had outlined the sudden growth of these lakes that posed a heightened risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF

An expedition team of the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports scaled a previously unclimbed peak, at an altitude of 20,942 ft in the Gorichen range of Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas