Glacier Melting In Arunachal Pradesh Sparks Fears Of Lake Outburst Floods

Rapid melting of glaciers in the Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh has raised concerns, with a record 1.5 metre melting of ice measured by scientists using vertical stakes

The Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies (CES & HS) has began monitoring the Khangri glacier in Tawang's Gorichen mountain region using biomimetic and computational intelligence. A satellite survey of the glacier using Sentinel-2 data from the year 2016 till 2025 shows the expansion of pro-glacial lakes, with a retreat in glacier under the Mago Chu basin.

This unprecedented meltdown has the potential to unleash sudden flash floods. On October 3, 2023, a multi-hazard cascade began with a permafrost landslide into South Lhonak Lake. This triggered a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) that traveled 385 km along the Teesta River to Bangladesh. The disaster caused 55 deaths and 74 persons were reported missing in Sikkim. This event caused extensive damage to infrastructure, making it one of the most disastrous multihazard events recorded in the region.

The Rani Lake, which is a glacial lake in the area near the Gorichen mountain region, might face a hazard due to this glacial meltdown and trigger a Sikkim-type Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

Researchers and experts attribute this to rising global temperatures, which are leading to increased glacier retreat and melting, which in turn contribute to the expansion of proglacial lakes like Rani Lake.

More than 400 glacial lakes within India are showing worrying expansion trends and demand vigorous monitoring for disaster purposes, the Central Water Commission (CWC) revealed in its latest monitoring report.

432 glacial lakes spread across Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have been flagged for vigorous monitoring because of their potential to unleash sudden and destructive floods, the report stated. Arunachal Pradesh accounts for the highest number of expanding lakes (197), followed by Ladakh (120), Jammu and Kashmir (57), Sikkim (47), Himachal Pradesh (6) and Uttarakhand (5).