Glacier Lake Outburst Flooding i.e. GLOF is a flood or sudden outburst occurring due to a dam containing a glacial lake fail. Recently, a sudden surge of water near Uttarakhand’s Chamoli has raised concerns for a disaster in the state similar to that in the year 2013.
Key Points
- Scientists are still finding the cause of the sudden outburst of Chamoli. But the most talked-about phenomenon is Glacier Lake Outburst Flooding or glacial outburst.
- While GLOF is being considered to be the most likely reason for the outburst in the region. There are many questions related to this possibility.
- Any big glacial lake is not known in this region.
- An avalanche can be a possibility but it alone cannot result in an increase in the flow of water in the river.
- GLOF are not unusual events, but their impact depends on the size of the Proglacial Lake that burst, and the location.
- The breach can be caused by various reasons.
- If the case of Chamoli is considered, an avalanche was reported in the region two days before the outburst.
The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, which is based in Dehradun, has sent two teams of scientists to the area for studying the possible reason behind the outburst.
Before this, in June 2013 cloudburst had resulted in floods in Uttarakhand making it the worst natural disaster in the country after the tsunami (2004).
