A team of scientists has raised an urgent alarm over the health of the Khangri glacier in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district. Following a high-altitude expedition, researchers from the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies have reported rapid melting and the formation of a potentially dangerous glacial lake. The findings suggest a growing threat of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, or GLOF, which could severely impact downstream communities in the Mago Chu basin.
The fifth Khangri glacier expedition, conducted in collaboration with national polar and technical institutes, concluded that the region is undergoing “alarming geomorphological changes.” Despite significant winter snowfall this year, rising temperatures continue to melt the ice at a critical pace. Scientists observed a large “sinking zone” caused by the collapse of the glacier snout, which has created highly unstable terrain in the transboundary headwaters of the Brahmaputra system.
Of particular concern is the discovery of a newly formed proglacial lake at an altitude of approximately 16,500 feet. Experts warn that the structural instability of the surrounding landscape could trigger an outburst, sending a catastrophic wall of water downstream. Such an event would pose a direct risk to river systems and human settlements, spanning across both local and transboundary regions.
To better predict and monitor these shifts, the team installed five new scientific monitoring stakes at elevations of nearly 17,000 feet using advanced DGPS technology. They also retrieved vital data from automatic weather stations and collected meltwater samples for geochemical analysis. As the eastern Himalayas face persistent climate variability, officials emphasize that these long-term monitoring efforts are crucial for developing early warning systems and protecting vulnerable downstream populations from emerging glacial hazards.
