Nepal releases white papers targeting glacial lakes and flood early warnings

The government introduced two comprehensive white papers outlining initiatives to strengthen the hydrology and meteorology sectors, establish flood early-warning systems across six major river basins, and decrease water levels in four high-risk glacial lakes to lower disaster vulnerabilities. Under the Priority River Basin Flood Risk Management Project, which spans from 2022 to 2028 with a financial allocation of 7.54 million United States dollars, the Centre for Water Resources Research and Development is implementing flood early-warning mechanisms across six selected river basins. To counter glacial lake outburst floods, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology plans to implement the GLOF Sanjivani Project. This project focuses on reducing water levels at four critical glacial lakes, including Tsho Rolpa in the Rolwaling Valley of Dolakha and Lumding Tsho situated in Solukhumbu, alongside lakes in Sankhuwasabha and Manang. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology is upgrading its multi-hazard early-warning setup. This system incorporates meteorology monitoring, identification of vulnerable spots, impact-focused forecasts, hazard maps, and direct information distribution to bolster local community readiness and support aviation safety.