The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued an alert on Sunday for an impending Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in Hassanabad, a mountainous valley in Hunza.
According to the notification, a surge in the melting of the Shishper glacier and impediments in the flow of water may result in the eruption of a lake in Hunza.
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Experts believe that the rising temperature will cause the lake to overflow in the summer, and have termed the next three to four weeks as critical.
The Met Department has also stated that the situation needs to be monitored constantly, and has recommended the installation of an automatic weather station at Hassanabad.
Its notification in this regard read: “A station monitoring the water level and water discharge should be installed on Shishper Glacier till the arrival of Hydro-Meteorological Equipment proposed by GLOF Project 2”.
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The PMD added that immediate steps must be taken to discharge the water from the lake using the hydraulic siphon technique to curtail risks during the discharge.
A technical team will visit Hunza in the first week of March to install the automatic weather station on the lake. It has requested Gilgit-Baltistan’s Disaster Management Authority to provide them with a water-level gauge for this task.
