India to start monitoring

India aims to install the first part of an early warning system at some high-risk glacial lakes in the Himalayas next year, a senior official said yesterday, as the country responds to deadly floods this month that killed at least 60 people. There are 56 at-risk glacial lakes in India and the urgency to monitor them was stepped up after Lhonak Lake in the eastern Himalayas burst its banks two weeks ago. "We will try some monitoring systems at lakes that are at risk," Krishna S Vatsa, a member of India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), told Reuters. The NDMA is co-ordinating with Indian and international institutes for the project. State governments will provide recommendations on which of the glacial lakes need to be prioritised, Vatsa said.