09:17
IIT Mandi has conducted a study on 2,000 glacial lakes and classified nine to twelve lakes as critical amid the expansion of water bodies due to glacial melting.
Dericks P Shukla, founding chairperson and Associate Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Mandi, told ANI that rising tourism, which causes pollution and dust deposits on glaciers, has led to melting and climate change, which also cause permafrost melting, leading to instability in terrain.
Shukla said, "There are many aspects to it. The glaciers are melting, and with a rise in tourism, there is carbon and dust deposition. This deposition is enhancing glacial melting. There is permafrost in the areas where the average temperature for two years is below zero degrees. There is permafrost in the Himalayan region, and when it melts, the layer above moves and causes instability in the terrain."
He noted that along with glacier collapse, permafrost melting also occurred in Nepal, ahead of the August 26 flash flood, which has led to 1,127 deaths.
"In the disaster in Nepal, it is being said that permafrost also occurred. The connectivity is good, but it should have been done in a controlled way. The tunnels have allowed a round-the-year influx of tourists. This is causing pollution and dust to deposit on glaciers. It deposits a black layer which absorbs energy and causes melting," he noted.
He said that while the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has identified four lakes that require immediate attention, IIT Mandi has identified at least nine critical lakes. He noted that the lakes in Himachal Pradesh have expanded by 30 to 60 per cent in the last 10 years. -- ANI
