Mountainous Tajikistan is using satellite technology to search for mountain lakes that pose a risk of catastrophic outbursts.

The announcement of the lake surveillance, reported by Asia-Plus on August 30, comes as rescuers continue to search the Nepal-Tibet border region of the Himalayas for survivors of the August 26 disaster in which a wall of water, released by a glacial collapse, surged downstream, claiming the lives of hundreds, and likely thousands. As of August 30, around 3,000 people were still missing.

Among the lakes that Tajik scientists are monitoring for changes – using the Transient Hydrologic Anomalies Weekly (THAW) automated tool – are Lake Sarez and other high-altitude water bodies of the Pamir mountains, including the glacial lakes of Baralmoos. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) pose a particular threat to life and property as, when an outburst occurs, the flow can carry large volumes of water, rocks, ice and mud, which can destroy roads, homes and agricultural land. 

Lake Sarez was formed amid mountains by an earthquake that struck Rushon District of Tajikistan’s eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) in 1911. The tremor caused a landslide that blocked the Murghab River.

The lake spans 61 kilometres (38 miles) in length and reaches depths of 500 metres. Seismologists remain worried that, while the natural damming of the lake appears stable, another major earthquake in the vicinity could cause catastrophic flooding of land below the location of the lake. Asia-Plus said scientists have detected some land movement in the slopes around the lake, which research suggests contains approximately 16-17 cubic kilometres (16,000 to 17,000 million cubic metres) of water.

In June 2024, IntelliNews reported on a proposal to export freshwater from Sarez to Gulf countries and other regions experiencing water stress and scarcity.

The THAW system uses data from the Sentinel-1 SAR satellite and the Google Earth Engine platform. The objective is to locate water bodies that require additional monitoring. 

Climate change is leading to accelerated glacier melting and the formation of new unstable lakes in high-altitude areas

According to an academic’s research data, Tajikistan has approximately 500 to 600 glacial lakes.