Glacio-hydrological aspects of climate change in the Himalayas: mitigation of glacial lake outburst floods in Nepal.

Atmospheric warming, rapidly retreating glaciers, large numbers of glacial lakes and their accelerated growth, and increase in extreme precipitation events in recent years provide evidence of climate change impacts in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH). These have led to a recent increase in disastrous floods, including glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the region. A number of dangerous glacial lakes are reported from Bhutan and Nepal. The Tsho Rolpa project in Nepal is the first experiment in the region for GLOF risk mitigation and power generation at 4500 m a.m.s.l. indicating potential of glacial lakes for multiple use and socio-economic development. Long-term implications of climate change impacts on regional waters and hydrological disasters are also discussed briefly, along with the need to strengthen the initiatives taken by regional countries and international agencies to establish a regional hydrological database and for a long-term glacier mass balance study in the HKH mountains.