Climate & Environment
As Himalayan glaciers retreat they leave meltwater lakes dammed by loose moraine — and when a dam fails, the flood tears down the valley. Here is…
By Laxman Rawal · Aug 26, 2026
On a clear night in August 2024, a small lake high above the Sherpa village of Thame, in the Everest region, gave way. A wall of water, mud and boulders swept down the valley, damaging homes and buildings in one of the most iconic trekking corridors on Earth…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
As a glacier flows downhill it bulldozes rock and rubble ahead of and beside it. When the ice retreats, that debris is left as a horseshoe of loose sediment — a moraine — and meltwater ponds behind it. Over years, that pond can grow into a lake holding…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The engine behind the trend is glacier melt. As the Himalaya warms, two things happen at once. Existing glacial lakes receive more meltwater and grow larger and deeper, raising the pressure on their moraine dams. And as glacier tongues shrink back, they…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Not every glacial lake is a threat. The danger depends on the lake's size, how fast it is growing, the state of its moraine dam and what lies downstream. Scientists rank the worst offenders as "potentially dangerous" glacial lakes, and several sit directly…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The good news is that GLOFs are one of the few climate hazards you can actually engineer against. The flagship example is Imja Tsho , the fast-growing lake at 5,000 metres below Island Peak in the Everest region. In 2016 the UN Development Programme, the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
You do not have to choose between witnessing the changing Himalaya and being sensible about it. The Everest Base Camp via Gokyo Lakes trek traverses the giant Ngozumpa glacier and its string of turquoise melt-lakes — the very process this story is about, seen…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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