Expedition to install early warning system on Vasundhara Lake flagged off – myuttarakhandnews.com | Uttarakhand News in English | Dehradun News Today| News Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand latest news

Initiative to help in reducing the threat of GLOFs by continuous monitoring of the Glacial Lakes PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun In an important initiative to reduce the threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), the State government has decided to install an early warning system in Vasundhara Tal (Glacial Lake) in Chamoli district.  Chief secretary Anand Bardhan flagged off a scientific and technical team to install the warning system at Vasundhara Tal on Tuesday. Pertinently, this is the first scientific team to visit the high Himalayan region in Uttarakhand to install the early warning system on a glacial lake. The expedition is scheduled from September 29 to October 15, 2026. The early warning system will enable continuous monitoring of environmental and hydrological changes in and around Vasundhara Lake Based on the data received from the sensors, it will help in identifying possible abnormal changes and providing timely alerts to the authorities. The expedition is being conducted by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority under the National Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Risk Reduction Programme. The team includes scientists and technical experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee and the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun. Personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will also accompany the team. The team will install a water level sensor to monitor fluctuations and abnormal changes in the water level of the lake. Similarly an automatic weather station to measure temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, air pressure and light intensity and a snow depth sensor will also be installed at the Vasundhara Lake. The scientists will also install snow subsurface temperature sensors, tilt and accelerometer sensors and water flow sensors. A solar power system will also be set up to supply power to equipment in the inaccessible high Himalayan region. The team also plans to install a satellite communication system for sending data to the base station in case the mobile network is not available and a data Logger and monitoring dashboard for recording data, online display and alert generation based on defined thresholds during its visit. CS Bardhan said that scientific monitoring of glacial lakes in the high Himalayan regions and the establishment of modern early warning systems will further strengthen the State’s disaster preparedness. Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, Vinod Kumar Suman said that as per the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) data for the year 2023, a total of 344 glacial lakes have been identified in the State. He informed that the NDMA and technical institutions have identified 13 glacial lakes in Uttarakhand as high-risk lakes. These include one lake in Bageshwar, four in Chamoli, six in Pithoragarh, one in Tehri Garhwal and one in Uttarkashi.  CM, Kaushik extend best wishes to Vasundhara Tal expedition DEHRADUN: Extending his wishes to all the scientists, experts and security forces involved in the expedition, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the establishment of the early warning system at Vasundhara Tal is an important step towards strengthening the state’s disaster preparedness from a technological and scientific perspective. In his message, Dhami said that since Uttarakhand is located in the high Himalayan region, monitoring glacial lakes and being vigilant against potential risks associated with them is crucial. The Disaster Management and Rehabilitation minister, Madan Kaushik said that the objective of the State government is to minimise disaster risk and further strengthen the safety of people living in the high Himalayan regions by utilising modern technology and scientific expertise.