• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
Friday, October 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
Northeast News - Northeast India news 24×7
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Bollywood veteran and comic legend Asrani passes away at 84

    Bollywood veteran and comic legend Asrani passes away at 84

    British boy band ‘Blue’ to perform in Shillong, Gangtok and Bengaluru this December

    British boy band ‘Blue’ to perform in Shillong, Gangtok and Bengaluru this December

    Bollywood’s Khans reunite on Riyadh stage, hint at long-awaited collaboration

    Bollywood’s Khans reunite on Riyadh stage, hint at long-awaited collaboration

    rahman

    A.R. Rahman teams up with Google Cloud for AI-powered digital avatar band ‘Secret Mountain’

    ‘Laapataa Ladies’ dominates 70th Filmfare Awards with 13 wins

    ‘Laapataa Ladies’ dominates 70th Filmfare Awards with 13 wins

    (X)

    Manipur to host four-day National Tribal Film Festival from November 8

    Legendary guitarist Tom Morello to make India debut with three-city tour in December

    Legendary guitarist Tom Morello to make India debut with three-city tour in December

    Meghalaya filmmaker wins top award at international speleology congress in Romania

    Meghalaya filmmaker wins top award at international speleology congress in Romania

    Renowned musician Joi Barua celebrates Bengal’s living legacy of music, culture

    Renowned musician Joi Barua celebrates Bengal’s living legacy of music, culture

  • Opinion
  • Neighbours
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Bollywood veteran and comic legend Asrani passes away at 84

    Bollywood veteran and comic legend Asrani passes away at 84

    British boy band ‘Blue’ to perform in Shillong, Gangtok and Bengaluru this December

    British boy band ‘Blue’ to perform in Shillong, Gangtok and Bengaluru this December

    Bollywood’s Khans reunite on Riyadh stage, hint at long-awaited collaboration

    Bollywood’s Khans reunite on Riyadh stage, hint at long-awaited collaboration

    rahman

    A.R. Rahman teams up with Google Cloud for AI-powered digital avatar band ‘Secret Mountain’

    ‘Laapataa Ladies’ dominates 70th Filmfare Awards with 13 wins

    ‘Laapataa Ladies’ dominates 70th Filmfare Awards with 13 wins

    (X)

    Manipur to host four-day National Tribal Film Festival from November 8

    Legendary guitarist Tom Morello to make India debut with three-city tour in December

    Legendary guitarist Tom Morello to make India debut with three-city tour in December

    Meghalaya filmmaker wins top award at international speleology congress in Romania

    Meghalaya filmmaker wins top award at international speleology congress in Romania

    Renowned musician Joi Barua celebrates Bengal’s living legacy of music, culture

    Renowned musician Joi Barua celebrates Bengal’s living legacy of music, culture

  • Opinion
  • Neighbours
No Result
View All Result
Northeast News - Northeast India news 24×7
No Result
View All Result
Home Arunachal Pradesh

Rapid glacier retreat in Arunachal’s Mago Chu basin heightens flood threat, study warns

Northeast NewsbyNortheast News
September 11, 2025
in Arunachal Pradesh
Glacier retreat in Arunachal raises concerns over water security: Study
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Itanagar: Glaciers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Mago Chu sub-basin, a crucial headwater zone of the Brahmaputra, are shrinking at an alarming pace, raising the risk of glacial lake outburst floods for downstream communities, a new scientific study has found.

Researchers from the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies (CESHS), in collaboration with IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and other institutes, reported that glaciers in the basin lost nearly 28.5 per cent of their area—over 15 sq km—between 1988 and 2019.

Larger glaciers, particularly those on south-west facing slopes, have fragmented into unstable smaller ones, with some losing almost half of their ice cover.

“The retreat here is faster than in many parts of the western Himalaya,” CESHS Director Tana Tage said.

“Bigger glaciers are breaking down into fragile fragments, making them far more vulnerable to collapse. This is not just an Arunachal problem but a concern for the entire Brahmaputra basin, spanning India, Bhutan and Bangladesh.”

The study noted that the Equilibrium Line Altitude, a key marker of glacier health, has risen by 137 metres in the last three decades, confirming that the glaciers are in negative mass balance and failing to replenish.

Declining rainfall has worsened the crisis. Monsoon precipitation in the basin has plunged from 2,100 mm in the mid-1980s to less than 1,500 mm after 2000, and just 900 mm in 2024.

With winter snowfall almost absent, glaciers have lost their natural recharge system.

The retreat has been accompanied by rapid expansion of glacial lakes.

The number of lakes nearly doubled from 15 in 1988 to 29 in 2017, with their combined area tripling to 2.11 sq km.

Four are listed among the National Disaster Management Authority’s high-risk sites.

Some lakes, which barely existed a few decades ago, have now grown into reservoirs larger than 0.8 sq km.

“Without detailed studies of lake depth and moraine stability, it is difficult to predict when or how these lakes might breach,” Tage cautioned.

Field investigations confirm accelerating melt, with Khangri Glacier alone losing nearly a metre of ice last winter amid negligible snow.

Hydrodynamic models suggest that a major breach could unleash flood waves exceeding 12,000 cubic metres per second, inundating villages such as Mago, Thingbu and Chagzum, and endangering hydropower projects in the valley.

ALSO READ: Meghalaya CM pledges strict checks in electoral rolls, safeguards for genuine voters

To monitor the changes, CESHS has deployed the first automatic weather station and water-level recorder in the basin, generating continuous real-time climate and hydrological data.

Plans are also underway to establish a permanent base camp to support long-term cryosphere research.

“Science alone cannot prevent disasters,” Tage emphasised.

“We need early warning systems, community preparedness and evacuation drills. Local resilience and traditional knowledge must be part of the solution.”

He described the Mago Chu basin as both a sentinel of global climate change and a testing ground for adaptation strategies vital to safeguarding downstream lives and livelihoods.

Join our WhatsApp Channel Get updates, alerts & exclusives Join
Tags: Arunachal PradeshFloodGlacierMago Chu
Next Post
Health Ministry issues advisory to states to step up preventive measures against dengue, malaria

Health Ministry issues advisory to states to step up preventive measures against dengue, malaria

(X)

3 inmates killed in Nepal prison clash as over 15,000 prisoners escape amid unrest

Meghalaya received Rs 405 crore under JJM for 2024-2025: PHE Minister Marak

Meghalaya received Rs 405 crore under JJM for 2024-2025: PHE Minister Marak

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Us

Northeast News is a digital only news platform covering Northeast India news 24×7. As Northeast India states – Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh hardly get any news coverage in the mainstream media, we are here to be ‘Vocal for Local’.

Category

  • Articles
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Assam
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Manipur
  • Meghalaya
  • Mizoram
  • Nagaland
  • Neighbours
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Tripura
  • Uncategorized

Site Links

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Neighbours

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.