Glacial Lakes Threaten Millions in a Warming World

“We saw houses vanish in front of our eyes,” says Aadesh, an engineer living in the northern Indian state of Sikkim. One of them was his own. In the early hours of October 4, Lhonak Lake—a Himalayan glacial lake—burst its banks, releasing huge amounts of water into the river valleys below.

In the Chungthang region where Aadesh lives, many miles downstream, bridges, police barracks, homes, and guest houses were washed away by water flowing at over 50 kilometers per hour. The Teesta 3 hydroelectric power project, with its 60-meter-high dam, was destroyed in its entirety. Forty people are

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