Fresh glacial lakes form at source of Nepal’s ice-rock avalanche
New glacial lakes have formed near the source of a recent ice-rock avalanche in Nepal, raising concerns about potential future flooding. Authorities are monitoring these natural formations, though predicting their evolution remains difficult due to the remote, high-altitude terrain.
Why it matters
The formation of unstable glacial lakes poses a significant threat to downstream communities, necessitating urgent environmental monitoring and disaster preparedness.
Two more glacial lakes have formed in Nepal, near the apparent source of the ice-rock avalanche that triggered flooding in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).
While the formation of the lakes is known, information on the potential water outflow is unavailable, said Krishna Vatsa, Member and Head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “One is 19.80 hectares, and the other is 7.28 hectares. We don’t have any estimates of the volume, but there are moraines [piles of debris deposited by a moving glacier],” he told The Hindu . “These are lakes that have formed in Nepal, and we don’t have direct knowledge of what’s happening there. We need to keep monitoring. These are natural formations, and so we can’t entirely predict how they evolve,” he added.
Nepal monitoring two lakes, flood risk to remain until they're fully drained: official
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