New Delhi:

The expanding glacial lakes in the Himalayas are a matter of serious concern and the National Disaster Management Authority or NDMA has finalised a list of 189 “potentially dangerous” lakes.

NDTV has learnt that of the nearly 7,500 glacial lakes in the Indian part of Himalayas, NDMA has finalised a list of 189 lakes where the risk factor needs to be lowered.

Rising global temperatures lead to faster melting of ice in these lakes and pose a risk of flooding – a situation known as Glacial Lake Outburst Flood or GLOF.

This is the kind of flood that had devastated the Kedarnath valley in 2013 and parts of Chamoli in 2021, sources said. 

In October last year, the South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim breached, causing a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.

The Teesta III dam, the biggest hydropower project in Sikkim was decimated by a GLOF, which also unleashed devastation on downstream areas and communities. 

Now, “all central and state agencies are working closely and have already completed expeditions to 15 of these high-risk lakes — six in Sikkim, six in Ladakh, one in Himachal Pradesh and two in Jammu and Kashmir,” a senior official told NDTV.

Another seven expeditions are underway, he said.

“Given the inhospitable terrain and weather conditions at heights of 4,500 m and above, there is only a June to September window to approach these formidable lakes. Several visits will be needed to implement lake-lowering measures, some of which could require civil engineering,” he said. 

One such expedition is going on in Arunachal Pradesh, where teams are assessing threats from six high-risk glacial lakes.

Considering the risk of these glacial lakes, the NDMA has suggested that there is an immediate need to take up measures to mitigate the effects of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood. The measures being considered include early warning systems, automatic weather stations, and others, the sources said.

“These composite expeditions are assessing structural stability and potential breach points of glacial lakes, gathering relevant hydrological and geological samples and data, measuring water quality and flow rates, identifying risk zones and making downstream communities aware,” said another official, explaining the work being done by NDMA.

The National Glacial Outbhrst Flood Risk Mitigation Programme (NGRMP ) was approved by the government on July 25.

The Home ministry has allocated Rs150 crore to support the efforts of state governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in this matter.

There is a separate programme envisaged on the same lines for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The programme aims at detailed technical hazard assessments, and installing automated weather and water level monitoring stations (AWWS) and early warning systems (EWS) at the lakes and in downstream areas.

The NDMA has indicated that the Uttarakhand government is also evaluating the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods. Thirteen of the most vulnerable lakes in India are in Uttarakhand.

Geneva:

A top Indian official, Kamal Kishore started his term as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s special representative for disaster risk reduction.

On May 20, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) welcomed the arrival of Mr Kishore, who started his term as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and the head of UNDRR.

“The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) welcomed on 20 May the arrival of Mr. Kamal Kishore, who started his term as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Head of UNDRR,” the UNDRR announced in a statement.

UNDRR welcomes Kamal Kishore, who starts this week as SRSG. He looks forward to building on UNDRR’s progress in drawing together global efforts to reduce global disaster risks.

“UNDRR’s ambition matches the scale of the problem,” he says.

Learn more https://t.co/CSSzb9fqYRpic.twitter.com/hGBmRNyoqT

— UNDRR (@UNDRR) May 23, 2024

Kamal Kishore succeeds Mami Mizutori of Japan, according to the UNDRR statement. On March 27, Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Kamal Kishore as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

Mr Kishore emphasised that UNDRR plays an important role in drawing together global efforts to reduce disaster risks in the face of increasing vulnerabilities. Kamal Kishore said that he was looking forward to building on the progress made to date.

“UNDRR’s ambition matches the scale of the problem,” he said.

He also praised Mami Mizutori for her leadership and expressed gratitude to UNDRR Director, Paola Albrito, for serving as the Acting SRSG prior to his arrival.

Kamal Kishore has nearly 30 years of experience in disaster risk reduction at the global, regional, national, and local levels, having worked in government, the United Nations, and civil society organisations, according to the UNDRR statement.

Since 2015, he has served as Head of the Department of India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). He also led the Group of 20 (G20) Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction under India’s G20 presidency.

Before joining NDMA, Mr Kishore spent nearly 13 years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Geneva, New Delhi, and New York. During this time, he led global advocacy to integrate disaster resilience concerns into the Sustainable Development Goals and a global team of disaster risk reduction advisers to support UNDP programme countries, according to the statement.

Before joining the UNDP, he served as director of Information and Research, and manager of the Extreme Climate Events Programme covering Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok from 1996 to 2002, according to the statement.

An architect at the Action Research Unit for Development in New Delhi from 1992 to 1994, he worked on post-earthquake reconstruction projects.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)