Glacial Retreat and Vulnerability Assessment of Glacial Lakes in Himalaya

Today, climate change is no longer a matter of scientific debate as statistics indicate that earth is warming up by approximately 0.750C in the last 100 years. As a result of this global warming, the mountainous regions are experiencing more rapid warming compared to other areas. The warming in the Himalayas in the last three decades has been between 0.150 C to – 0.60 C per decade. Studies have shown that most of the glaciers in Himalaya are shrinking at accelerated rates in recent decades. This, combined with other natural factors has increased the amounts of water in glacial lakes. As a result of this, there is a potential danger of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) with damaging impact upon the stream community. Examples of glacier retreat in China, India, Bhutan and Nepal Himalayas are shown in this presentation along with the examples of GLOF events in the region and the mitigation measures taken for the prevention of potential GLOF events. The presentation highlights the fact that glacier change is an indicator of climate change and that glacier retreat in the Himalayas is increasing every day. It also emphasizes on regional cooperation for trans-boundary basins and urges on regular monitoring of glaciers and glacial lakes, and adaptation measures including engineering structure and policy linkage for potentially dangerous glacial lakes.