Avalanche Alert in Uttarakhand

• 21 Mar 2025

Why in News? 

The Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) has issued an avalanche warning for high-altitude areas across five districts of Uttarakhand. 

 Key Points 

• Avalanche in Chamoli: 
  • The alert follows a deadly avalanche in Mana (Chamoli), near the Indo-China border in Chamoli district. 
  • The avalanche claimed the lives of eight contractual workers from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). 
• Avalanche Warnings: 
  • The DGRE issued an orange alert for high-altitude areas in Chamoli, indicating a high risk of avalanches. 
  • A yellow alert, signaling moderate risk, was issued for Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, and Rudraprayag districts. 
  • A green warning, indicating a low threat level, was issued for Bageshwar district. 
    • Fresh snowfall has led to increased snow accumulation on slopes, significantly raising the risk of avalanches in these regions. 
• Safety Recommendations: 
  • The DGRE advised restricting movement to safer and carefully selected routes through the valley. 
  • It urged extreme caution while traveling and warned against venturing onto snow-loaded slopes. 
  • Authorities recommended evacuating unprotected settlements near avalanche-prone paths. 

 Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) 

• About: 
  • DGRE is the only establishment within the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that provides advanced terrain intelligence solutions to the Armed Forces. 
  • It specializes in mapping, forecasting, monitoring, controlling, and mitigating landslides and avalanches in the Indian Himalayas. 
  • DGRE was established on 15th November 2020, under the Armament & Combat Engineering Cluster of DRDO. 
  • It was formed by merging two premier DRDO labs: 
    • Snow & Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), Chandigarh 
    • Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL), Delhi 
  • The headquarters of DGRE is located in Chandigarh. 
• Research and Meteorological Centres: 
  • DGRE operates five Research & Development Centres (RDCs) in: 
    • Manali (Himachal Pradesh) 
    • Delhi 
    • Tezpur (Assam) 
    • Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) 
    • Lachung (Sikkim) 
  • It also has three Mountain Meteorological Centres (MMCs) in: 
    • Srinagar (J&K) 
    • Auli (Uttarakhand) 
    • Sasoma (Ladakh U.T.) 
• Objectives: 
  • Ensuring the safe mobility of troops in challenging terrains. 
  • Assessing the military potential of different terrains using modern evaluation techniques. 
  • Mission Priorities: 
    • Geospatial Information System – Develop a system for operational planning and military intelligence. 
    • Engineering Solutions – Provide cutting-edge engineering solutions to ensure safe troop movement, particularly in avalanche- and landslide-prone areas. 
    • AI-Enabled Systems – Build intelligent, AI-powered solutions for optimized deployment and operational efficiency. 

 Avalanche 

• About: 
  • An avalanche is a sudden, rapid flow of snow, ice, and debris down a mountain or slope. 
  • It can be triggered by various factors such as heavy snowfall, rapid temperature changes, or human activity. 
  • Many regions that are prone to avalanches have specialized teams that monitor and control avalanche risks by using various methods such as explosives, snow barriers, and other safety measures. 
• Types: 
  • Rock Avalanches which consist of large segments of shattered rock. 
  • Ice Avalanches which typically occur in the vicinity of a glacier. 
  • Debris Avalanches which contain a variety of unconsolidated materials, such as loose stones and soil.