Eastern Himalayas
Fighting Back Against the Floods
Glacial lakes form from melting glaciers and can burst suddenly, resulting in devastating flooding.
© Steve Morgan
Climate change is causing many Eastern Himalayan glaciers to melt faster than ever observed and in the process they leave behind pools of water that form glacial lakes.
Weak walls of earth and rock contain the water but can burst suddenly, resulting in massive flooding downstream that is catastrophic for local communities. The flooding can:
- drown people
- crush bridges and houses
- wash away livestock
- cover pastureland with silt and sand
These floods are known as glacial lake outburst flood events, or GLOFs.
There are a growing number of potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Eastern Himalayas and WWF monitors the most worrisome of those, such as Lake Imja in Nepal. If Lake Imja bursts it could wipe out 70% of the trekking trail to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, which would be a crushing blow to Nepal’s tourism-dependent economy.
Norbu Sherpa from Nepal vividly remembers when a glacier lake collapsed above his village in 1985 :
“We scrambled about collecting a few belongings which we could carry and ran out of the house. We got out just in time. In a few minutes the flood had swept away five houses including mine, as well as cattle and crops. I saw my cow drowning in the flood near a suspended bridge. The flood kept raging on for hours and washed away all our possessions. Those were the most distressing hours of my life.”
VIDEO
International effort to drain dangerous Bhutan lake underlines costs and risks of climate change
Swollen Lake Thorthormi threatens to release 14 million gallons of water onto the surrounding communities. WWF and others joined Bhutan in what is arguably the most ambitious climate project in the world: averting a future flood disaster by expanding channels to relieve the water pressure.
Thorthormi is too remote for heavy machinery to access. Instead, over 300 workers, carrying shovels and with pack animals, hike for ten days to reach the remote site. Facing extreme conditions of elevation and freezing water, workers manually dig the channels to try and artificially lower the water level.
-
Become a Paperless Member
Become a monthly member and you'll receive more benefits online and less clutter offline.
-
Adopt a Snow Leopard
Make a symbolic snow leopard adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.
