{"id":3949,"date":"2026-08-29T04:54:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T04:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/?p=3949"},"modified":"2026-08-30T05:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T05:00:02","slug":"glof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/glof\/","title":{"rendered":"GLOF"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><\/h3>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><b>SYLLABUS: Disaster Management<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>General Studies \u2013 : III Disaster and disaster management.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>IN NEWS:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A shared disaster, beyond borders and geopolitics<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>QUESTION: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do the fragile geology and steep topography of the Himalayas amplify the impact of glacial lake outbursts, landslides and flash floods? Discuss with suitable examples. (250 words, 15 marks)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>ANSWER: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The young, tectonically active nature of the Himalayas\u2014characterized by fragile, heavily fractured rock structures and high seismic sensitivity (Zones IV and V)\u2014coupled with extreme topographical relief, acts as a powerful amplifier for natural hazards. When heavy precipitation, glacier melt, or minor earthquakes occur, the steep mountain terrain converts these triggers into high-velocity, catastrophic disasters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Amplification of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Unconsolidated Moraine Dams:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> High-altitude Himalayan glacial lakes are typically impounded by terminal and lateral moraines\u2014unconsolidated mixtures of loose boulders, gravel, and fine silt\u2014rather than solid rock, making them structurally weak.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Gravitational Momentum:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The steep gradient of Himalayan valleys provides immense gravitational potential energy. When a moraine breaches, the escaping water accelerates rapidly, entraining massive amounts of sediment and transforming into a devastating debris flow.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>October 2023 South Lhonak Lake GLOF in Sikkim<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> occurred when an avalanche or slope failure breached the fragile moraine dam at an altitude of 17,000 feet. The steep descent down the Teesta River basin propelled a colossal wall of water that surged 50\u201360 feet high, completely destroying the Chungthang dam and downstream infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Amplification of Landslides and Mass Wasting<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fractured Bedrock and Permafrost Thaw:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Continuous tectonic convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates leaves Himalayan rock faces heavily sheared. Elevation-dependent warming thaws permafrost, removing the &#8220;ice-cement&#8221; holding steep rock faces together.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Shear Stress on Steep Slopes:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The precipitous angle of Himalayan slopes means that minor triggers\u2014such as heavy monsoon spells or small tremors\u2014drastically increase down-slope shear stress, leading to massive rockfalls and slope failures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cascade Effects (LLOFs):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Landslides frequently collapse into narrow river channels, creating temporary &#8220;landslide lakes.&#8221; When these unstable natural dams overflow or collapse, they unleash secondary catastrophic flash floods downstream.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>2021 Chamoli disaster in Uttarakhand<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was triggered when a steep hanging glacier and rock face collapsed into the narrow Rishi Ganga gorge. The falling mass instantly fluidized, generating a massive debris avalanche that scoured the valley floor and destroyed multiple hydropower units.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Amplification of Flash Floods and Cloudbursts<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Topographic Funneling:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Steep, V-shaped Himalayan gorges act as natural funnels. When localized cloudbursts dump heavy rainfall over a short duration, the water cannot spread out; instead, it is violently channeled into narrow stream beds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Kinetic Energy and Debris Loaddings:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> As high-velocity water rushes down steep slopes, it scours riverbeds and picks up accumulated construction muck, loose soil, and boulders. This transforms ordinary rainfall into high-density mudflows possessing exponential destructive force.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>2013 Kedarnath disaster<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was heavily intensified by a cloudburst over the steep terrain surrounding the Chorabari basin. The precipitous topography funneled massive volumes of water and glacial debris directly into the Mandakini valley, where high flow velocities and heavy sediment loading obliterated towns like Rambara.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The inherent fragility of Himalayan geology and the high-relief topography ensure that environmental triggers do not remain localized incidents. Instead, they cascade rapidly through river basins, turning localized climatic events into large-scale humanitarian and ecological crises.<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><b>PYQ REFERENCE UPSC 2024<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q. &#8220;What is a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)? Discuss the vulnerabilities of the Himalayan region to GLOFs and suggest suitable mitigation measures.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><b>SOURCE: <a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/201615\/OPS\/GBUGE4M54.1+GT3GF6U27.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hindu e-paper &#8211; <\/a><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/201615\/OPS\/GBUGE4M54.1+GT3GF6U27.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A shared disaster, beyond borders and geopolitics<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SYLLABUS: Disaster Management General Studies \u2013 : III Disaster and disaster management.\u00a0\u00a0 &nbsp; IN NEWS: A shared disaster, beyond borders 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