Study assesses risks from hanging glaciers in Central Himalaya

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The researchers identified 219 hanging glaciers — these cling to steep valley walls and often terminate abruptly — across the basin, covering approximately 72 square km with an estimated ice volume of 2.39 cubic km, including less than one square km of hanging ice mass. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Unstable hanging glaciers on steep mountain slopes could trigger devastating avalanches and downstream disasters, a new study focused on a sensitive section of the Central Himalaya has warned.

Four researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Chandigarh, assessed such glaciers in the Alaknanda basin of Uttarakhand, a key headstream region of the Ganga. Their findings revealed the scale of the growing but largely overlooked danger, and a sharp rise in human exposure, driven by rapid development in high-altitude areas.

Published - April 19, 2026 06:37 pm IST

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