# Study finds ice avalanches from hanging glaciers could hit 398 buildings in Badrinath

URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-30/badrinath-hanging-glacier-avalanche-study/
Date: 30 October 2026 (2026-10-30)
Source: Indian Express, Page 2
UPSC papers: GS1, GS3
Publisher: upsc.help (Pratidin), free and open-source UPSC Civil Services current affairs. Not affiliated with UPSC. Every fact was checked against the source reports by a separate review before publishing.

**In one line:** Scientists have modelled ice avalanches from three hanging glaciers above Badrinath and found they could reach about 398 buildings.

A study published online on 28 October 2026 in the journal Landslides (Springer) has modelled what would happen if ice broke off three hanging glaciers above Badrinath township in Uttarakhand's Central Himalaya. The authors, including Abhilash Gogineni, Anil V. Kulkarni and H.S. Negi, are from the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment of the DRDO in Chandigarh, and the University of Cambridge. A hanging glacier is a mass of ice clinging to a steep slope or cliff above a valley, often ending abruptly at a drop, so pieces can break away and fall as ice avalanches. The team used satellite imagery to identify the three unstable glaciers and computer models to simulate the avalanches. It found that the avalanches could reach about 398 buildings and a helipad in the town, and it calls for hazard mapping and tighter rules on construction.

The study builds on a wider inventory published in April 2026, which identified 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda basin covering about 71.7 sq km and holding about 2.39 cubic km of ice, of which about 0.74 cubic km is hanging ice; nearly 30% of that hanging ice lies in the Upper Alaknanda, around Badrinath. Worst-case simulations in that work produced flows about 51 m high at Badrinath. The region has seen what such failures can do: on 7 February 2021, rock and glacier ice collapsed from Ronti Peak in Chamoli district and swept down the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga valleys, leaving more than 200 people dead or missing and badly damaging two hydropower projects. Scientists stress that these are exposure scenarios, not forecasts that a collapse is imminent; the policy question is whether construction for pilgrims and tourists keeps moving into the paths such avalanches would take.

## Prelims facts

- A study in the journal Landslides (online 28 October 2026) found that ice avalanches from three hanging glaciers could reach about 398 buildings in Badrinath.
- The study was by researchers from IISc's Divecha Centre for Climate Change, DRDO's Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment and the University of Cambridge.
- An April 2026 inventory found 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda basin, holding about 0.74 cubic km of hanging ice.
- The 7 February 2021 Chamoli disaster was a rock and ice collapse from Ronti Peak, not a glacial lake outburst flood.

## Quick recall

- **In which journal was the Badrinath hanging-glacier study published?** Landslides (Springer), online on 28 October 2026.
- **How many buildings could the avalanches reach, according to the Badrinath study?** About 398.
- **Name the lead authors of the Badrinath hanging-glacier study** Abhilash Gogineni, Anil V. Kulkarni and H.S. Negi, among others.
- **Area covered by the 219 hanging glaciers of the Alaknanda basin** About 71.7 sq km.
- **How many hanging glaciers did the April 2026 study find in the Alaknanda basin?** 219.
- **Hanging ice volume in the Alaknanda basin** About 0.74 cubic km (of about 2.39 cubic km total ice).
- **Date of the Chamoli rock and ice avalanche** 7 February 2021.
- **Which institutions did the Badrinath study involve?** IISc's Divecha Centre for Climate Change, DRDO's Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment and the University of Cambridge.

## Prelims practice question

Consider the following statements regarding hanging glaciers:
1. They are masses of ice on steep slopes or cliffs above a valley, often ending abruptly at a slope break.
2. Their main hazard is the sudden failure of a moraine-dammed lake.
3. A falling mass of ice from them can turn into a debris flow by picking up rock, sediment and water.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. Statement 1 is correct: hanging glaciers sit on steep slopes above main valleys and may end at a cliff. Statement 2 is incorrect: the failure of a moraine-dammed lake is a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF); the hazard from a hanging glacier is ice breaking off as an avalanche. Statement 3 is correct: a falling mass can become a debris flow, as happened in Chamoli in 2021.

## UPSC previous-year questions this connects to

- UPSC Mains 2026, GS3: Discuss how the contradiction between 'rapid infrastructure development' and 'disaster-risk reduction' in ecologically-sensitive areas of India can be managed, with suitable examples. (https://upsc.help/pyq/q038-contradiction-between-rapid-infrastructure-development-disaster-risk-reduction/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Cite Badrinath as an ecologically sensitive area where new infrastructure sits in hazard zones, and show how hazard mapping can guide where to build.
- UPSC Mains 2017, GS3: 'Climate Change' is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? (https://upsc.help/pyq/q299-climate-change-global-problem-india-will-affected/)
  How to use this story in the answer: Add cryosphere hazards from warming as a specific impact of climate change on Himalayan States, using the Alaknanda and Badrinath studies.
- UPSC Mains 2021, GS1: Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (https://upsc.help/pyq/q039-differentiate-causes-landslides-himalayan-region-western-ghats/)

## Mains practice question

Hanging glaciers are emerging as a major but under-studied hazard in the Himalaya. Discuss the risks they pose to Himalayan settlements and suggest measures to reduce them. (150 words)

### Model answer

Hanging glaciers are ice masses on steep slopes above valleys that can break off as avalanches. A study published on 28 October 2026 found that avalanches from three such glaciers could reach about 398 buildings in Badrinath.

## Risks
- **Exposure:** besides buildings, a helipad lies in the modelled avalanche paths.
- **Scale:** 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda basin hold about 0.74 cubic km of hanging ice.
- **Cascades:** ice can turn into debris flows, as at Chamoli on 7 February 2021 (over 200 dead or missing).
- **Growth in runout zones:** pilgrim and tourist infrastructure keeps expanding.

## Measures
- Basin-wide inventory and satellite plus ground monitoring.
- Early-warning systems and evacuation drills.
- Hazard maps to restrict construction in modelled flow paths.
- Include cryosphere risks in environmental impact assessments for roads and hydropower.

Mapping and planning now costs far less than rebuilding after a collapse.

## The basics

## Why this matters

The Himalaya is warming, and its ice is changing in ways that put towns, roads and dams at risk. Most attention has gone to glacial lakes that can burst. A quieter danger is ice that simply falls: Hanging glaciers perched above valleys where people now live and travel in large numbers.

## What makes a hanging glacier dangerous

A hanging glacier often forms when a large valley glacier retreats and leaves a smaller tributary glacier perched above the deepened main valley. Its front may end at a cliff. Warming, meltwater seeping into cracks, thawing permafrost and earthquakes can all weaken its hold. When a piece breaks off, it falls as an Ice avalanche, and on the way it can pick up rock and water.

## Not the same as a GLOF

A Glacial lake outburst flood starts with water: a lake held back by ice or loose rock bursts. A hanging-glacier failure starts with ice falling. The 2021 Chamoli disaster was first described as a GLOF but was in fact a rock and ice collapse.

## Sources

- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10346-026-02868-w
- https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/india/scientists-warn-badrinath-hanging-glaciers-could-collapse-damage-398-buildings/tldr
- https://clarityupsc.com/news/article/hanging-glaciers-study-maps-219-ice-forms-in-alaknanda-basin-4013
- https://anantamias.com/current-affairs/what-are-hanging-glaciers/