Glacier lake outburst floods: Wrecking havoc to life and property in the Himalayan region

These floods cause havoc with human life, flora and fauna of the area and the infrastructure in the region.

The Dig Tosho Glacier lake outburst in August 1985, destroyed the nearly completed Namche hydropower plant and all the rails, roads, and other infrastructure in its course.

In Arun Kosi river basin, there are 737 glaciers in Tibet and 229 glacier lakes, out of which glacier lakes 24 are potentially dangerous. Similarly, there are 45 glacier lakes in the Sun-Kosi basin out of which 10 are potentially dangerous.

A Sino-Nepal study has revealed that there have been at least 10 glacier lake outbursts since the 1940s.

Considering the vulnerability of the river Kosi's river basin, the melting glaciers will acerbate the problem a hundredfold. The melting glaciers will release much more water than normal in a short time thus creating a flood situation. And over the year the discharges will tend to decrease

The monsoonal storms and flooding in the Himalayas will increase in severity and frequency due to climate change. This will alter the area's erosion, river discharge and sediment patterns. This will directly impact the hydropower reservoirs along the river and the new and planned constructions. The increased sedimentation will directly affected the agricultural lands and the irrigation canals and streams. This will lead to an over deterioration in cropping patterns in the region.