The entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to cloudburst and 16 glacial lakes in Himachal Pradesh are potentially dangerous, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences S Jaipal Reddy today said.
"Entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to rain induced hazards in the form of cloudburst. Apart from Himachal Pradesh, the threat of cloudburst exists in Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Leh and other places in Himalayan region," the Minister told Lok Sabha said in a written reply.
A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development reported 156 glacial lakes in Himachal Pradesh with 16 of them as potentially dangerous, he noted.
The Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO-IMD) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences has formulated the 'Himalayan Meteorology Program' for augmenting observing systems by deploying doppler weather radars, rain radars, automatic weather stations and automatic rain gauges.
The enhanced spatial and time resolution of observations would contribute to improved prediction of Himalayan weather in general and extreme weather events in particular.
"The assimilation of the above observational data will facilitate improvement in now-casting and forecasting over the hill States.
