Uttarakhand flood: Scientists highlight the need to improve monitoring of glaciers
Gathering baseline data will help in understanding the hydrology, geology and climate change response of Himalayan glaciers. The site of a destroyed hydroelectric power station in Raini village of Uttarakhand. | Anshree Fadnavis/ Reuters
As authorities race to rescue people trapped in Uttarakhand, following a devastating landslide-induced flash flood on February 7, scientists have called for deciphering the possibility of glacier-related hazards and enhance the capabilities of monitoring and early warning in the high mountain areas.
Scientists in a review published on February 2, before the floods, stressed on improved in situ monitoring network for weather, hydrology and glacier change as a crucial requirement for predicting the future of this resource and associated hazards and their impact on regional water, energy and food security.
Interview: Uttarakhand flood is a tragic reminder of the dangers Himalayas face from climate change
Pema Gyamtsho, an expert on the fragile ecology of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, talks about the challenges that the region is facing. Rescue teams in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. | PTI
Pema Gyamtsho, the director general of the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, is one of the world’s leading experts on protection of the fragile ecology of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, a United Nations-supported inter-governmental organisation, has eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. A prominent Bhutanese politician, he was his country’s first minister of agriculture and forest. He has a PhD from the prestigious Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
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Glacier slipped from 5,600m may have caused disaster: Experts
By
VISHAL GULATI ( IANS) |
Published on
Thu, Feb 11 2021 11:57 IST |
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Glacier slipped from 5,600m may have caused disaster: Experts. Image Source: IANS News
New Delhi, Feb 11 : There was a hanging glacier that slipped with rock and ice falling from 5,600 metres altitude owing to gravitational pull and this caused disaster in Uttarakhand, as per preliminary observations of experts.
This explanation by scientists comes days after Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament that initial inquiry has revealed that a landslide triggered a snow avalanche covering approximately 14 square km area and caused a flash flood in the Rishiganga river downstream in Uttarakhand s Chamoli district.
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New Delhi, February 11
There was a hanging glacier that slipped with rock and ice falling from 5,600 metres altitude owing to gravitational pull and this caused disaster in Uttarakhand, as per preliminary observations of experts.
This explanation by scientists comes days after Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament that initial inquiry has revealed that a landslide triggered a snow avalanche covering approximately 14 square km area and caused a flash flood in the Rishiganga river downstream in Uttarakhand s Chamoli district.
The scientists, however, say it is difficult to comment right now if climate change has been directly responsible for the February 7 catastrophic that washed away two upcoming hydropower stations, claiming at least 34 dead and 200 missing who are feared dead.