Sign In
Learn bits
Index & Reports
Mahesh

11/02/23 09:22 AM IST

3 million Indians live in areas that can be swept by glacial lake floods, says study

In News
  • Three million Indians live in areas where a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) can happen at any time, the first global assessment of such areas has found.
Major Findings
  • Globally, 90 million people across 30 countries live in 1,089 basins containing glacial lakes. Of these, 15 million (16.6 per cent) live within 50 kilometres of a glacial lake.
  • The majority of the globally exposed population amounting to 9.3 million (62 per cent) are located in the region of high mountain Asia (HMA).
  • The population exposed to GLOFs increases with distance from a glacial lake. Almost half (48 per cent) of exposed populations are globally located between 20 km and 35 km downstream of lakes.
  • Only two per cent (300,000) of the global population exposed to GLOFs live within five km of one or more glacial lakes, with the majority of these — 66 per cent or 198,000 people found in HMA.
  • The majority of the globally exposed population is located in the region of high mountain Asia and more than 50% in India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
  • According to the ICIMOD, Himalayan glacial lakes increased by about 9% in number, and 14% in the area.
  • The best-studied glacier is north India’s Chhota Shigri, which has lost three times its mass.
  • The rapid onset of GLOFs means there is insufficient time to effectively warn downstream populations.
Source- DTE

More Related Current Affairs View All

16 Jan

INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer commissioned

'PM Modi dedicated three frontline naval combatants to the nation on their commissioning.' The naval combatants – INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer --were commissio

Read More

15 Jan

Meta shutting down fact-checkers

'Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company will get rid of fact-checkers and simplify content policies by removing restrictions on topics as it is “out of touch with mainstre

Read More

15 Jan

Mission Mausam

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched  ‘Mission Mausam’, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at making India a weather-ready and climate-smart nation, as part of th

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps