GCF okays $36.2 million to lower water level in Nepal’s four glacial lakes

KATHMANDU: Nepal is set to receive $36.2 million in grant assistance from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to reduce the risk of floods caused by glacial lake outbursts.

The grant for ‘Protecting Livelihoods and assets at Risks from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and climate change-induced flooding in glacial river basins of Nepal’ was approved by the 42nd meeting of the GCF Board held in Papua New Guinea.

The project aims to protect communities, infrastructure and ecosystems from increasing GLOF risks caused by human-induced climate change and to reduce human and economic losses. It will use an integrated approach combining physical lake lowering, downstream ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction measures, and early warning systems.

The funding, to be channeled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will support a project aimed at lowering water levels in four potentially dangerous glacial lakes: Thulagi in the Gandaki Basin, and Lower Barun, Lumding and Hongu in the Koshi Basin. The project also includes upgrades to weather monitoring infrastructure and the installation of automated early warning systems.

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a growing threat in the Himalayan region as rising temperatures accelerate glacier melt. According to a 2020 study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes have been identified across Nepal, India and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Of these, 31 have been classified as high-risk (Rank I) due to unstable moraine dams and vulnerability to avalanches, landslides or rising water levels. Twenty-one of these lakes are in Nepal.

Nepal earlier reduced water levels in two glacial lakes to mitigate GLOF risk. The water level at Tsho Rolpa in Dolakha was lowered by over 3 meters in 2000, and Imja Tsho in Solukhumbu by 3.4 meters in 2016. Similar interventions are planned for the four targeted lakes under the new GCF-funded project.

Since the 1980s, at least 26 GLOF events have been recorded in Nepal. These events have caused severe damage to lives, infrastructure and livelihoods downstream. The Thyanbo glacial lake outburst in August 2024 caused significant damage in the Thamel valley near the Everest region. A similar GLOF incident in Limi Valley last month has put Tila village at risk.