How does the glacier lake explode, causing sudden floods in Sikkim?

More than 140 people have gone missing and around 26 have died due to flash floods caused by the bursting of a glacier lake in Sikkim. NDRF teams are engaged in rescue and relief work. Search operation is going on to find the missing people. Let us know how a glacier lake is formed and how it explodes.

About 26 people died and about 140 people went missing in the flash flood in Sikkim due to the explosion in the glacier lake. NDRF teams are conducting search operations to find the missing people. Let us know how a glacier lake is formed and how and why it explodes and how it causes sudden floods when it explodes.

The glacial lake, located at an altitude of 17,000 feet in the north-west of the state, burst and flooded due to excessive water being released downstream due to continuous rains. According to media reports, several studies over the past few years have noted the rapidly increasing size of South Lonak Lake due to melting glaciers and have labeled it as susceptible to glacial lake outburst floods.

How does a glacier lake explode?

Glacier lake outburst flood is the sudden release of water from a lake formed by the melting of a glacier. Although glacial lakes, like South Lonak Lake, are common in the Himalayas, they become a threat when they grow larger and become damaged by unstable ice or sediment made up of loose rock and debris. When the borders around lakes can no longer handle the excess water, they break, resulting in massive amounts of water flowing down the sides of the mountains, flooding low-lying areas, known as glacier melt. The lake is called eruption.

This is how lake explosion causes devastation

Once the eruption occurs, the water in large quantities rushes down through the valleys and becomes destructive as it comes down. The fast flowing water also brings rocks and debris with it, causing devastation in the villages below and destroying the infrastructure.

How are glacier lakes formed?

With rising temperatures across the world, melting of glaciers in the Himalayas is a common phenomenon, which has also been observed in Sikkim. The melting glaciers have given rise to many glacial lakes and due to this the already existing lakes in the area have expanded. According to a report in The Indian Express, there are more than 300 glacial lakes in the Sikkim Himalayas, out of which 10, including South Lonak Lake, are considered vulnerable to floods.