Accelerated melting of the Himalayan Parkachik Glacier in Ladakh could give rise to three glacial lakes with an average depth ranging between 34 and 84 metres, scientists have found.

• These lakes could be a potential source of glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayas, the scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, said.  
• Parkachik Glacier is one of the largest glacier in the Suru River valley, which is a part of the Southern Zanskar Ranges, western Himalaya.
• The Zanskar Range, part of the Himalayas, lies in the union territory of Ladakh. 
• In this study, the scientists have identified three potential overdeepening sites for lake formation on the glacier at different elevations. The lake area of each of these lakes could range from 43 to 270 hectares. 
• They said, however, that the expansion and reduction of these lakes depended on the dynamics of the glacier. 
• The study’s surface ice velocity estimation suggested a slowing down, resulting in an increase of debris cover on the glacier surface, or the ablation zone, it said.