Early warning system for India’s flooded glacial lake was delayed by a year

An early warning system for glacial floods was due to have been installed in the Indian Himalayas last year, but work on the project only began in September, officials said, too late to raise the alarm before last week's floods that killed dozens. Reuters first reported that scientists were working on an early warning system at Lhonak Lake in the northeastern state of Sikkim which if fully operational could have given people more time to evacuate when the lake overflowed and triggered flash floods. But the project began just weeks before the floods killed at least 60 people and left more than 100 missing because Indian authorities could not organise an expedition to the site last year as planned, the officials said.