Landslides and flash floods caused by the collapse of massive glaciers in the Himalayan mountains have caused widespread damage in Nepal and Tibet. The disaster that occurred last Wednesday morning has left more than a thousand people from about 30 countries in danger. About 300 bodies have been recovered so far. The impact of the disaster in Nepal, a destination for tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, has raised concerns even in far-off Kerala. The Bhotkoshi River valley, which connects the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and Lhasa in Tibet, was swept away by flash floods. The search currently underway is based on preliminary information that a thousand people are missing. Authorities are trying to figure out the cause of the disaster. What is almost confirmed is that the key cause of the big disaster is massive collapse of Himalayan glaciers due to climate change. The earthquake-like situation, which occurred after huge avalanches of snow, rock, and mud fell from the Himalayan glaciers, engulfed the entire districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot.
When climate change becomes severe, glaciers begin to melt. The Himalayan region, with its steep mountain slopes of rock and soil formed over centuries is a disaster-prone region. When the temperature rises, these mountain slopes melt and become unstable. When an earthquake or fissure occurs, this debris can fall down and cause a major disaster. The Himalayan peaks contain the largest amount of ice on the planet after the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Sometimes, glacial lakes formed by melting glaciers can overflow and stream down, causing disaster. Last year, nine people were killed in a similar incident in Nepal. It was last year again that a village in Switzerland was completely swept away by a glacier. There were no casualties thanks to advance warning given there. However, experts say that the Bhotkoshi River flood disaster is the deadliest in recent times. Not only that, Himalayan disasters have been repeated in Chamoli and Dharali in Uttarakhand and Sikkim. When experts say that the frequency of these is likely to increase and that it is impossible to predict it in advance, the situation turns more worrying.
The fact is that India does not have the means and mechanisms to predict such disasters. This kind of disaster had its beginning with the devastation caused in Himachal Pradesh in 2003 after the Parichu Lake in the Tibetan region of the Sutlej River burst in the valley. This was repeated in 2005. The disaster occurred in Tamak Nala in Uttarakhand just before the Nepal disaster. The warning is that as global warming causes widespread melting of glaciers, glacier-related disasters will continue to occur. Switzerland was spared the loss of life because developed countries have the means to predict and prevent them. India has a large number of satellites in orbit which are useful in pinpointing the epicentre and extent of the impact after disasters occur, but it is not helpful in making predictions in advance.
Therefore, in view of the unpredictable floods in Kerala in 2018, the Central Water Commission submitted recommendations to the NITI Aayog for preventive measures against flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts. Due to the vastness of the Himalayan peaks, small countries like Nepal and developing countries like India have limited investment in this field. In addition, the melting of Himalayan glaciers fills the rivers of countries including Nepal, Pakistan, India and China. Billions of people depend on the water in these rivers. As well as the threat of floods, if the ice sheets thin, water scarcity will be another threat. Therefore, efforts must be made by the world’s nations to create a sustainable management system. A common body should be able to take up greenhouse gas control, permanent investment in warning systems, and monitoring of vulnerable mountains with urgency. The Green Climate Fund, which helped Nepal set up a better monitoring system, can do a lot in this regard. Solutions to disasters should be sought not in isolation, but collectively. However, there needs to be a strong sense of urgency and intensive awareness creation to take action against uncivilized and inhumane atrocities such as construction work on riverbanks and hillsides, river encroachment, and illegal construction in environmentally sensitive areas. When the land, sea, earth, and mountain ranges are destroyed as a result of human activities, it is none other than humans who should hurry to recover.