📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. J
Science
Experts to Survey Khangri Glaciers in Arunachal Pradesh After Nepal Floods
✍️ Deccan Herald
🗓 30 Aug 2026, 09:48 PM
👁 5
Following severe flash floods in Nepal, a team of glaciologists and hydrologists will carry out a bathymetric survey of the Khangri glaciers in Arunachal Pradesh to assess their vulnerability.
Severe flash floods that swept across parts of Nepal have raised concerns about the stability of neighboring Himalayan glaciers. In response, a consortium of Indian glaciologists, hydrologists and climate scientists announced plans to conduct a detailed bathymetric survey of the Khangri glacier system located in Arunachal Pradesh's high Himalaya.
The survey will employ sonar mapping and remote‑sensing techniques to measure ice thickness, sub‑glacial water channels and melt‑water discharge rates. It is being coordinated by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in partnership with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research.
Khangri glaciers are classified as vulnerable due to rapid retreat observed over the past decade. Mapping their sub‑surface topography will help predict potential outburst floods that could affect downstream communities in the Siang basin and beyond.
Field work is slated to begin in early October, with preliminary findings expected to be shared with disaster‑management agencies later this year, aiming to improve early‑warning systems for the region.
The survey will employ sonar mapping and remote‑sensing techniques to measure ice thickness, sub‑glacial water channels and melt‑water discharge rates. It is being coordinated by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in partnership with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research.
Khangri glaciers are classified as vulnerable due to rapid retreat observed over the past decade. Mapping their sub‑surface topography will help predict potential outburst floods that could affect downstream communities in the Siang basin and beyond.
Field work is slated to begin in early October, with preliminary findings expected to be shared with disaster‑management agencies later this year, aiming to improve early‑warning systems for the region.