More than 27% of the identified glacial lakes in the Himalayas have notably expanded since 1984 and 130 of those are in India: ISRO

National

In a statement of ISRO, said long-term satellite imagery covering the catchments of Indian Himalayan river basins from 1984 to 2023 indicates significant changes in glacial lakes. More than 27 percent of the identified glacial lakes in the Himalayas have notably expanded since 1984 and 130 of those are in India. Of the 2,431 lakes larger than 10 hectares identified during 2016-17, 676 glacial lakes have notably expanded since 1984. 601 of the 676 lakes have expanded more than twice while 10 lakes have grown between 1.5 to two times and 65 lakes 1.5 times. 130 of the 676 lakes are situated within India, with 65, seven, and 58 located in the Indus, Ganga and the Brahmaputra river basins, respectively. An elevation-based analysis revealed that 314 lakes are located in the 4,000-5,000-metre range and 296 above 5,000 metres.


      Among the 676 expanding lakes, the majority are moraine-dammed (307), followed by erosion (265), other (96), and ice-dammed (8) glacial lakes.

     

     

 

     


Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Founded- 15 August 1969
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