Nepal plans to drain four glacial lakes after August floods that killed over 1,400

LeftNepal will begin an effort this fiscal year to drain four glacial lakes high in the mountains to reduce flood risks, officials said, after a disaster that killed more than 1,400 people. 1 2 LeftThe lakes are Thulagi, Lower Barun, Lumding Tsho and Hongu II, in central and eastern Nepal. Design work and detailed studies will begin in the fiscal year that runs until mid-July 2027, authorities said. 2 LeftDraining "through gated structures" will start after a detailed study and could take up to six years, said Sanjeeb Baral, executive director of Nepal's Centre for Hydrology and Water Resources Research. 1 2

LeftSubash Tuladhar, an expert at the centre overseeing the project, said the aim is to lower the risk of the lakes breaching their natural dams and to reduce downstream flood risk. Canals will drain water into nearby rivers in a regulated way, and workers face health risks from long periods of high-altitude work as well as the danger of sudden flooding. 1 2 LeftTuladhar said Nepal has the skills and experience for the $50-million project, which is to be funded by the Green Climate Fund, the UNDP and the government. It will also include sensors, a flood forecasting and warning system, and work to build downstream resilience and prepare communities. 2 1 LeftThe lakes sit at heights of 4,050m to 5,483m and rank among Nepal's most potentially dangerous, according to a 2020 report by the UNDP and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). 1

LeftSamjwal Ratna Bajracharya, a retired ICIMOD expert, said lowering the lakes by 3 m would significantly reduce the threat, and that the lakes are growing fast and could burst at any time because of earthquakes, avalanches, climatic conditions or unplanned human activity. Nepal lowered Tsho Rolpa by 3 m in 2000 and Imja, near Mount Everest, about 10 years ago. 1 2 LeftThe August glacier collapse unleashed landslides and a flash flood in the border region with China. Rescuers are still searching for more than 5,000 missing people. 1 2 LeftABC reported that only 112 bodies had been identified and returned to families, that 5,285 people were missing in Nepal including hundreds of foreigners, and that Chinese state media put the toll in China at 43 dead and 519 missing, for a combined toll of nearly 1,500 dead and 5,800 missing. 2

LeftThe floods devastated a dozen hydroelectric plants, roads, bridges, farms and settlements. Officials have said cash-strapped Nepal would need billions of dollars for early recovery; The Hindu put the figure at nearly $5 billion. 1 2 LeftPrime Minister Balendra Shah, 36, told the United Nations last month that the disaster was a warning to the world and blamed climate change despite Nepal's negligible emissions. Nepal has reported about 26 glacial lake outburst flood events in four decades and loses more than 300 lives a year on average to extreme climate events. 2 1