New Delhi: The newest satellite tv for pc pictures shared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)have raised concern globally because it present a major enlargement of the glacial lakes within the Himalayas up to now 3 to 4 many years. According to ISRO’s knowledge, over 600 lakes which quantity to 89% of the full glacial lakes on the Himalayas have grown over twice their measurement up to now 30- 40 years.
Long-term modifications within the Ghepang Ghat glacial lake (Indus River Basin) at an elevation of 4,068 m in Himachal Pradesh, India, present a 178 per cent improve in measurement from 36.49 to 101.30 hectares between 1989 and 2022. The fee of improve is about 1.96 hectares per 12 months.
Long-term satellite tv for pc imagery protecting the catchments of Indian Himalayan river basins from 1984 to 2023 signifies vital modifications in glacial lakes. Of the two,431 lakes bigger than 10 hectares recognized throughout 2016-17, 676 glacial lakes have notably expanded since 1984. Specifically, 130 of these lakes are located inside India, with 65, 7, and 58 lakes positioned within the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra River basins, respectively, the assertion learn.
The Himalayan Mountains are sometimes called the Third Pole as a result of of their intensive glaciers and snow cowl. They are thought-about extremely delicate to modifications within the international local weather, each in phrases of their bodily traits and their societal impacts.
Research carried out worldwide has persistently proven that glaciers throughout the globe have been experiencing unprecedented charges of retreat and thinning because the onset of the Industrial Revolution within the eighteenth century.
This retreat results in the formation of new lakes and the enlargement of present ones within the Himalayan area. These our bodies of water, created by the melting of glaciers, are generally known as glacial lakes and play an important position as freshwater sources for rivers within the Himalayan area.
However, additionally they pose vital dangers, reminiscent of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), which might have devastating penalties for communities downstream. GLOFs happen when glacial lakes launch giant volumes of meltwater as a result of failure of pure dams, reminiscent of these made of moraine or ice, leading to sudden and extreme flooding downstream, ISRO additional said.
These dam failures may be triggered by varied elements, together with avalanches of ice or rock, excessive climate occasions, and different environmental elements. Monitoring and finding out the incidence and enlargement of glacial lakes within the Himalayan area is taken into account difficult as a result of inaccessible and rugged terrain.
Satellite distant sensing expertise proves to be a superb device for stock and monitoring attributable to its huge protection and revisit functionality, the ISRO said, including that assessing long-term modifications in glacial lakes is essential for understanding glacier retreat charges, assessing GLOF dangers, and gaining insights into local weather change impacts.
Elevation-based evaluation additional reveals that 314 lakes are positioned within the 4,000 to five,000 m vary and 296 lakes are above 5,000 m elevation. The glacial lakes are categorized primarily based on their formation course of into 4 broad classes, specifically Moraine-dammed (water dammed by moraine), Ice-dammed (water dammed by ice), Erosion (water dammed in depressions fashioned by erosion), and different glacial lakes. Among the 676 increasing lakes, the bulk of them are Moraine-dammed (307) adopted by Erosion (265), different (96), and Ice-dammed (8) glacial lakes, respectively, the discharge additional said.
Satellite-derived long-term change analyses present invaluable insights for understanding glacial lake dynamics, that are important for assessing environmental impacts and creating methods for GLOF threat administration and local weather change adaptation in glacial environments, it added.
