Glacial lake outburst flood

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of Child survival in a changing climate
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The climate changes due to the increasing temperature of the planet are causing the recession of glaciers in the Hindu Kush mountain range, causing a worrying rise of the water level. When a glacier melts, a proglacial lake gets produced at the very bottom of the moraine and the same sediments carried by the glacier act as a natural dam for the water. These lakes have long been in a precarious balance between the amount of water that results from the melting ice and the quantity that flows away through their emissary streams. The global warming has been leading to a rapid glaciers’ melting in the recent years thus altering such balance. The water-level of these lakes has grown rapidly and the moraines, retaining the water, might not withstand its weight. Monsoons, with their plentiful rains, worsen the situation, increasing the risk of floods into the valleys below. The Lake Tsho Rolpa, it’s the largest and most dangerous glacial lake in Nepal and it is located in the Rolwaling Valley, approximately 30 km southwest of Mt. Everest. It was formed over the past forty years as the Trakarding Glacier has stagnated, melted and finally recessed. The lake is at an elevation of 4.580 m, is approximately 3 km long, 0.5 km wide and up to 135 m deep. It is retained by a natural moraine dam that is unstable and might burst. May the dam break, the resulting flood of approximately 80 million cubic meters would inundate the entire valley, putting at risk 6000 lives, 60 hydroelectric sites and other infrastructures. I The damage would have a severe impact on Nepal’s economy. The Tsho Rolpa lake is currently surrounded by sensors and alarms, connected to sirens in the nearby villages. But alarms provide only a 10-minute advance notice and that’s too short for ensure villagers’ evacuation. Entire families of farmers living in the Rolwaling Valley are therefore seriously worried about their own and their children’s future survival. Yet, they are forced to remain in their villages breeding yaks and cultivating potatoes and they have no other place to move to. (text by Luca Catalano Gonzaga).

  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. View of the Rolwaling Valley. This valley is closed to the east by the massive Bigphera Go (6700 m) and Tengi Ragi Tau (6900 m), where the Drolam Bau glacier extends. It is characterised by high valleys and by the Tsho Rolpa, a lake situated at 4500m produced by a slender natural dam of glacial moraine. Moreover, is locked between the Dudh Kosi (a river that flows in the Khumbu valley) and the Bhote Kosi (a river that flows from Tibet).
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. A farmer harvesting potatoes in Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Grazing animals out Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. On the way to Jagat village.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. A family from the Rolwaling Valley is going down along the road to Jagat. Some villages in the valley are at high risk due to the potential overflow of the Lake Tsho Rolpa. The progressive glaciers melting, caused by global warming, endangers the lives of the inhabitants of the valley.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Children at work, in Singati village, nearby the Tinekhu Khola River.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Jagat village. Family at work in front of its home.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Families along the road to the city of Dolokha. Many families move to villages in the valley as they are concerned by the menacing Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Two acquaintances meet along the road to the Singati village.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Singati village, girl inside of her home. Singati was the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Nepal on May 12, 2015, claiming 12 lives and destroying most of the houses there.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Singati village, little girl in front of her home. Singati was the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Nepal on May 12, 2015, claiming 12 lives and destroying most of the houses there.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Singati village, girls while studying outside their home. Singati was the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Nepal on May 12, 2015, claiming 12 lives and destroying most of the houses there.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Jagat village, crossed by the Tama Koshi river.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. The Tinekhu Khola River in the Rolwaling Valley.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Inhabitant of the Singati village.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Portrait of little girl in Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Family at work at the Jagat village.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. A farmer shelters the potatoes at his home in Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few away kilometres from the Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. A young farmer harvesting potatoes in Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa. Potatoes are put into baskets for harvesting.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Potato pickers at work, near Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Potato pickers at work, near Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Potato pickers at work, near the Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa. Potatoes after being extracted are then thrown into baskets for harvesting.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. A young farmer harvesting potatoes in Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Some potato pickers watch the weather conditions in the mountains where the Tsho Rolpa lake resides.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. An elderly farmer at work at Na village, at 4.180 meters of altitude. The last human settlement, a few kilometres away from the Lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Little girl inside of her home in Singati village. Singati was the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Nepal on May 12, 2015, claiming 12 lives and destroying most of the houses there.
  • Tsho Rolpa lake, Nepal 2011. The Tsho Rolpa Glacial Lake is the largest and potentially most dangerous glacial lake in Nepal. The lake, that is at an elevation of 4580 metres, is approximately 3 km long, 0.5 km wide and up to 135 m deep. About 6,000 families living in the Rolwaling valley are worried a small earthquake could break the banks of the lake. Alarm sensors surround the valley, but the population does not consider them useful, as they would have about 20 minutes only to evacuate. Until twenty years ago there were grass fields for grazing animals around the lake, but nowadays they no longer exist. The Tsho Rolpa glacial lake has grown seven times bigger in the past 60 years due to global warming.
  • Tsho Rolpa lake, Nepal 2011. The Tsho Rolpa Glacial Lake is the largest and potentially most dangerous glacial lake in Nepal. The lake, that is at an elevation of 4580 metres, is approximately 3 km long, 0.5 km wide and up to 135 m deep. Japanese instruments monitor its stability and water level. In fact, due to climate change, glaciers’ melting and recession are increasing.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepa 2011. The impetuous Tama Koshi river.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepa 2011. The impetuous Tama Koshi river.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepa 2011. The impetuous Tama Koshi river.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepa 2011. The impetuous Tama Koshi river.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Eastern Nepal 2011. View of the valley. The valley is closed to the east by the Bigphera Go (6700 m) and by the Tengi Ragi Tau (6900 m), where the Drolam Bau glacier extends. It is characterised by high valleys and by the Tsho Rolpa, a lake situated at 4500m produced by a slender natural dam of glacial moraine.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Ripimoshar glacier, adjacent to the lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Droolambau glacier, adjacent to the lake Tsho Rolpa.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Landscape around the valley.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Landscape around the valley.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Eastern Nepal 2011. View of the valley. There are mountain peaks in this area as the Menlungtse (7.181 m) and the Gauri Shankar (7.134 m).
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Landscape around the valley.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Peaks of Gauri Shankar Himal Glacier (7134m) adjacent to Tsho Rolpa Lake. In recent years, climate change and glaciers recession constitute a major hazard in the Himalaya.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Peaks of Gauri Shankar Himal Glacier (7134m) adjacent to Tsho Rolpa Lake. In recent years, climate change and glaciers recession constitute a major hazard in the Himalaya.
  • Rolwaling Valley, Eastern Nepal 2011. View of the valley. There are mountain peaks in this area as the Menlungtse (7.181 m) and the Gauri Shankar (7.134 m).
  • Rolwaling Valley, Nepal 2011. Overlooking the mountains and valleys from a special view point.

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