Events

Cryospheric Hazards and Risks: Transboundary Implications in the Himalayan Region

Speaker: 
Dr. Ashim Sattar, Assistant Professor, IIT Bhubaneswar

Moderator:
Dr. Srinivas Chokkakula, President and Chief Executive, CPR

Friday, 13th February 2026, 3:30 PM IST onwards.

This event will be held online via Zoom. Please register below to attend.

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About the Talk
Climate change is rapidly transforming high mountain regions, increasing the potential hazards such as debris flows, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and flash floods. Accelerated glacier melt, widespread thinning of glacier ice, permafrost thaw, and shifting precipitation regimes are interacting to generate cascading disasters that threaten lives, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure. In the Himalayan region, these risks are intensified by the transboundary nature of major river basins, where GLOFs and debris flows initiated in upstream areas can rapidly propagate across national borders, exposing downstream populations to hazards. Recent events, including the 2023 South Lhonak Lake GLOF in Sikkim, have served as a stark reminder of the severe downstream impacts of GLOFs.

Similarly, the Gongbatongsha GLOF, a devastating transboundary flood, underscored the institutional and policy challenges involved in managing climate-amplified hazards in shared river basins. Similar high-risk glacial lakes and debris-flow-prone catchments are proliferating across the Himalayas and other surrounding mountain ranges, with potential impacts extending into neighbouring countries. Concurrently, rapid reductions in glacier ice thickness threaten the long-term reliability of meltwater contributions to Himalayan rivers, raising critical concerns for water security, including fresh water supply, agricultural productivity, hydropower generation, and ecosystem resilience.

These intersecting risks expose significant gaps in existing governance frameworks, which remain largely national in scope despite the transboundary nature of cryospheric hazards. Addressing these challenges requires the development of legally supported transboundary treaties, strengthened river basin authorities, and standardised protocols for data sharing, joint hazard mapping, and coordinated early warning systems. Embedding science-based transboundary governance into national climate and disaster policies is essential to reduce losses, enhance regional water security, and promote equitable and resilient development across the Himalayan region.

About the Speaker
Dr. Ashim Sattar (Assistant Professor, IIT Bhubaneswar) is a leading expert in glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and glacier-related hazards. He is an expert member of the recently constituted Sikkim Commission on Glacier Hazards, Government of Sikkim. He is also an expert member of Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains (GAPHAZ), a Scientific Standing Group of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) and the International Permafrost Association (IPA).

His research primarily focuses on climate impact on the Himalayan Cryosphere, remote sensing-based glacier modelling, and modelling of GLOFs and other mountain hazards. He has expertise in several aspects of high mountain hazards, risks, and adaptation.

He is an expert on multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral GLOF research around the globe, including the Himalayas, the Andes, Iceland, and Central Asia, in local and regional scale assessments. Dr. Sattar focuses on understanding various mass movement processes in high mountain geosystems, focusing on recent dynamics.

Dr. Sattar is the founder of the Cryosense Lab at IIT Bhubaneswar, dedicated towards working on Glacier Hazards, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment. He is leading a working group with mountain communities, policymakers, and various stakeholders.

He has published numerous high-impact research articles, including his work on South Lhonak GLOF, published in the journal Science. He is actively involved in GLOF risk reduction in the Himalayas through his scientific contributions. He extensively works on GLOFs’ impact on hydropower and transboundary hazards. Currently, he is developing iOS and Android applications as an integral part of GLOF early warning systems.