Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: On 3 October 2023, a multihazard cascade in the Sikkim Himalaya, India, was triggered by 14.7 million cubic meters of frozen lateral moraine collapsing into South Lhonak Lake. The impact generated an ~20-meter tsunami-like impact wave, which breached the moraine and drained ~50 million cubic meters of the lake's water. The ensuing glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) eroded ~270 million cubic meters of sediment, which overwhelmed infrastructure, including hydropower installations along the Teesta River. The physical scale and human and economic impacts of this event prompt urgent reflection on the role of climate change and human activities in exacerbating such disasters. Insights into multihazard evolution are pivotal for informing policy development, enhancing early warning systems (EWS), and spurring paradigm shifts in GLOF risk management strategies in the Himalaya and other mountain environments.
Source: Science
Authors: Ashim Sattar, Kristen L. Cook, Shashi Kant Rai, Etienne Berthier, Simon Allen, Sonam Rinzin, Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Wilfried Haeberli, Pradeep Kushwaha, Dan H. Shugar, Adam Emmer, Umesh K. Haritashya, Holger Frey, Praful Rao, Kori Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, Prabhakar Rai, Rajeev Rajak, Faruk Hossain, Christian Huggel, Martin Mergili, Mohd. Farooq Azam, Simon Gascoin, Jonathan L. Carrivick, Louie Elliot Bell, Rakesh Kumar Ranjan, Irfan Rashid, Anil. V. Kulkarni, Dave Petley, Wolfgang Schwanghart, C. Scott Watson, Nazimul Islam, Moushumi Das Gupta, Stuart N. Lane, Shahid Younis Bhat
Institutions: Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Grenoble Alpes, Central University of Jammu, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire d’Études en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, University of Geneva, University of Zurich, Newcastle University, University of Cambridge, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, University of Calgary, University of Graz, University of Dayton, Ministry of Home Affairs, Banaras Hindu University, Government of Sikkim, Sikkim University, Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Centre d'Études Spatiales de la Biosphère, University of Leeds, University of Kashmir, University of Hull, University of Potsdam, Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics, University of Lausanne
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4406970321