India, Aug. 13 -- A team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) suspects that a "hanging glacier" feeding the Kheer Ganga channel may have contributed to the series of flash floods in Dharali on August 5.

HT reported on August 7 that a preliminary analysis by the National Disaster Management Authority indicated that a glacier collapse may have led to the flash floods.

There are 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins according to the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc, which, as part of an ongoing study has just completed a geo-spatial mapping of hanging glaciers in Uttarakhand.

A hanging glacier is one that originates high on the wall of a glacier valley and descends only part of the way to the surface ...