As
the Thorthomi glacier near Punakha Dzong, Bhutan is noted by scientists
to be melting rapidly due to climate change, grave concern is now being
expressed over the threat of a glacial lake outburst flood, which is
caused by a sudden and large release of water held under a glacier.
Dowchu Dupka, Engineer with the Bhutanese Ministry of Geology and Mines :
People term it as the tsunami from the sky. If this whole glacier
melts, which it will do in the course of time that could create the
worst-case scenario.
Karma, Bhutanese village resident:
When it comes to myself, I may be able to run away but we worry for our
elderly relatives who may not be in a apposition to escape immediately.
When they talk about the likely chance of a lake bursting, I am
terrified.
Dzongpon Ugey, Bhutanese farmer: When
I built this house two years ago, no experts from the outside had ever
visited this area and so I was not aware of the dangers of flooding. Now
that I know the danger, I really regret building it here.
Dowchu Dupka, Engineer with the Bhutanese Ministry of Geology and Mines :The
plan is to install sensors at the source here as well as a little bit
further downstream that would give enough lead time for the settlements
or for the people to evacuate.
Such an event would destroy the
historic, administrative, and religious center of the Punakha district,
including the sacred Punakha Dzong Buddhist monastic temple.
In
addition, forests and ancient villages downstream from the lake would
suffer the impact of an overwhelming rush of river water due to the
so-called “mountain tsunami.”
According to a report published by
the International Center for integrated Mountain Development and the
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 24 out of 2,674 glacial lakes
in Bhutan are at risk of bursting, with other experts saying that
Bhutan’s glaciers are retreating on average 30 meters each year.
In
an effort to protect the Bhutanese people, the government hired
US-based Sutron Corporation in April to install a glacier lake outburst
flood early warning system for the Punakha district region.
We pray
for the safety of the Punakha Dzong and all Bhutanese villagers of this
beautiful and special place. May we quickly reverse these harmful
warming effects through our conscientious actions to exist harmoniously
with the environment.
In an August 2008 interview by Ireland’s
East Coast FM Radio, as on previous occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai
spoke of the decisive actions needed to avert such forecasts of global
warming calamity.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
According to the scientists, whatever they have predicted or prescribed
about our critical situation is accurate up to 99%. They want us to
change the way we live our lives by cutting down CO2 emissions. And the
fastest way that individuals can do, without a lot of protocol and ado,
is to be veg.
It’s truly critical now, as we have witnessed increasing disaster worldwide, due to climate change.
We
still have time, we still have a little time to change the course of
destiny, thanks to the vegetarian population, old and new members that
reduce the most karmic retribution in the shortest span of time.
Thus
we have like an extended deadline before the no return point. But it’s
not much. We must change fast to avoid much more damage to the Earth as
well as loss of more lives and resources.