Editorial
Melting Himalayas
Nepal should replicate success of draining Imja Lake to other vulnerable glacial lakesRecently, the Engineering Department of the Nepal Army was successful in draining Imja Lake, one of the fastest-growing and potentially threatening glacial lakes in Nepal, to a safer limit. The Imja Lake, located at an altitude of 5,010 meters in Solukhumbu district, is among the six glacial lakes that are at most immediate risk of bursting, according to the National Adaptation Programme of Action prepared by the Ministry of Population and Environment.
Glacial lakes are naturally unstable and subject to rapid discharge of water once the moraine is breached, causing what is known as glacial lake outbursts flood (GLOF)–and thus pose a hazard to people and property located downstream. And now with rising temperatures due to climate change, the threats from glacial lakes seem to be increasing.
The rise in global temperature and its effects on glaciers and duration of winter snow cover have been evident. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, which contains the world’s largest volume of glacier ice and perennial snow outside the polar regions, is no exception. According to Nepal’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat earlier this year, the total estimated ice reserve between 1977 and 2010 decreased by 29 percent in Nepal’s Himalaya. Moreover, due to the accelerated melting of snow, the number of glacial lakes increased by 11 percent, while many lakes are expanding, posing more risks of GLOFs than ever before.
The world’s climate has been witnessing an accelerating warming trend from about 1980s, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities are the most significant driver of observed climate change. Although Nepal’s GHG emission is only around 0.027 percent of total global emissions, it still falls in the Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20)–a group of 20 most vulnerable countries from climate change. As such, the government should try to get access to the Green Climate Fund of the UNFCCC allocated to low-emission and climate-resilient projects and programmes in Least Developed Countries. Nepal should also voice the concerns of such vulnerable countries more vigorously in international arenas. The upcoming COP 22 summit in Morocco from November 7 to 18 can be an opportune time for this.
At the national level, the government needs to make more efforts towards GLOF risk reduction. As a start, the water level of the remaining glacial lakes at most immediate risk should be brought down. Although the government has installed early warning systems in two of the vulnerable glacial lakes, such systems need to be placed in other lakes as well. Local communities in the vicinity of sensitive areas have to be made more aware of GLOF hazards; rehearsal of emergency plan and programmes on escape, relief, and rescue from GLOF events can help raise public awareness. But as it has been proven in the case of Imja Lake, local authorities need expertise in mitigating glacial lake outburst risks or any other climate-related disasters.