How glacial lakes expansion adds to the growing concerns about GLOFs
As rising global temperatures accelerate glacier retreat and increase meltwater, glacial lakes across the Himalaya are expanding at an unprecedented rate. This expansion has heightened concerns over the growing threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). India has witnessed some of the disastrous GLOF events in recent years that claimed thousands of lives and caused severe infrastructure damage. A recent analysis of glacial lakes in the Mago Chu Basin in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district found that four out of the five examined glacial lakes – Dharkha Tso, Sanhapo Lake, and three other unnamed lakes – have expanded between 2016 and 2026. For instance, Sanhapo Lake, a ‘high risk’ lake, increased from 55.87 hectares (ha) in 2016 to 88.81 ha in mid-June 2026, according to the analysis by Noida-based geospatial intelligence firm Suhora Technologies. Among these, two unnamed lakes, which are categorised as ‘very high risk’ by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), are also expanding at modest rates. Such expansion has raised concerns over the current status of glacial lakes in India and the country’s …
