JAMMU: At least five glacial lakes in the Kashmir Himalaya have “very high susceptibility” to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), even though they are not immediately unstable, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.

Speaking in the assembly, Abdullah said a preliminary geospatial analysis was conducted to map downstream exposure of glacial lakes, identifying habitations and critical infrastructure along potential flood paths in districts like Ganderbal, Shopian and Kulgam.

The study was recently conducted by the University of Kashmir, published in the Journal of Glaciology, assessed 155 glacial lakes using hydro-geomorphic indicators such as lake expansion rate, dam stability and surrounding conditions.