{"id":52613,"date":"2024-08-22T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T14:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=52613"},"modified":"2024-08-23T14:56:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T13:56:11","slug":"nepal-says-china-withholds-essential-info-on-bursting-himalayan-glacial-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2024\/08\/22\/nepal-says-china-withholds-essential-info-on-bursting-himalayan-glacial-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal says China withholds “essential” info on bursting Himalayan glacial lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chinese government\u2019s failure to provide information about the state of its Himalayan glacial lakes is endangering mountain-dwellers in neighbouring flood-prone Nepal, according to a senior government official.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two lakes in Nepal burst last Friday, destroying dozens of homes in a village known for its Everest sherpas, raising fears that global warming is likely to cause more such disasters as glaciers melt in high mountain ranges.<\/span><\/p>\n

After last week\u2019s flood, Jagadishwor Karmacharya, the head of Nepal\u2019s hydrology and meteorology department, told Climate Home the Chinese government has not shared \u201cessential\u201d information about its glacial lakes and the risk of floods that threaten Nepal.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, for example, Gongbatongshacuo Lake in Tibet<\/a> burst, causing a flood along the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal’s northern district of Sindhupalchowk. It swept away 20 houses, a boarding school and parts of a customs office, damaging dozens more buildings and a hydropower plant and destroying large stretches of road, including a highway linking Nepal and China.<\/p>\n

Sign up<\/a>\u00a0to get our weekly newsletter straight to your inbox, plus breaking news, investigations and extra bulletins from key events<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Karmacharya said China, Nepal and India must collaborate to prevent such disasters, adding that Nepal has been asking China for many years to supply data about its glacial lakes but China has not met promises to do so made in bilateral meetings and other fora.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a lake in China bursts, the impact on Nepal could be unimaginable,\u201d he said. \u201cThis information is essential for us to prepare and reduce the impact of floods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu did not respond to an emailed request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Melting ice<\/b><\/h3>\n

A glacial lake is made up of water from melted glacier ice. Climate change has sped up the melting of glaciers which forms lakes and can cause avalanches, making it more likely that the water in these lakes bursts through the ice holding it back, causing what is known as a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).<\/span><\/p>\n