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Safeguard the lakes on the edge: How Hikvision supports Himalayan glacial lakes research and protection
High in the Himalayas, known as the Roof of the World, thousands of glacial lakes glitter like sapphires. However, beneath their captivating beauty lies a latent peril. “They hang high in the sky like giant reservoirs, looming directly over the fate of human civilization,” explains Dr. Zhang Qianggong, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Head of Climate and Environmental Risks at ICIMOD. As global warming accelerates, glaciers are disappearing at an increasingly rapid pace, causing the glacial lakes to expand significantly. According to a 2022 UNESCO report, one-third of World Heritage Glaciers will vanish by 2050.
This transformation leads to an urgent crisis. The expanding glacial lakes heighten the risk of sudden outburst floods, threatening catastrophe for vast ecosystems and downstream communities. For scientists dedicated to the cryosphere, like Dr. Zhang, research on these volatile lakes is a race against time. “What we can do first is to understand them,” he says, “and we must act right now.”
To tackle the threats posed by these lakes and to seek effective solutions for glacier retreat and climate change, scientists need to analyze the lakes’ water first. However, for decades, gaining a deeper understanding of these remote lakes has been anything but easy, requiring both physical and mental resilience.
Accessing these lakes presents the initial obstacle, since most glacial lakes are situated at altitudes exceeding 5,000 meters. A round trip with equipment takes at least three days, and it is just the very beginning of numerous challenges. After arriving at the lakes, researchers have to endure treacherous weather, oxygen-thin air, and life-threatening hazards. From fresh bear footprints found around camps, to the risk of falling into freezing lakes… all these dangers and challenges hinder scientists’ research.
But the greatest challenge isn’t physical, but the mental strain: the fear that the effort will ultimately be in vain. “The mental stress is always tougher,” sighs Lu Zijian, a PhD student in Dr.Zhang’s team. “Several times, we stayed by the lake for days, and still missed a sudden change. That was when the pressure at its greatest.” With thousands of lakes scattered in the Himalayas, relying on manual observation alone is definitely impractical.
The breakthrough came from a small observation. “Once, flying over the mountains, I saw countless lakes glittering in the sun, which were breathtaking.” Dr. Zhang recalls. “It made me wonder: what if we could get what we see? What if the color changing could reflect the change of water quality, and help us to understand more of these glacial lakes?”
At first, the idea seemed like “The Arabian Nights” for the team. After all, decoding and understanding lakes by their color has never been proven. Their skepticism, however, swiftly turned into excitement after confirming a strong connection between the lake color and water turbidity. While this discovery held immense potential, it also highlighted a critical challenge: how to capture those color shifts continuously when changes occur within hours?
That was when Hikvision stepped in and provided its technology as a solution. Since 2022, Dr. Zhang’s team has collaborated with Hikvision’s STAR Program for Social Good and deployed multiple ColorVu cameras at 3 glacial lakes in the Himalayas. By enabling real-time and 24/7 continuous observation with high definition images, these cameras gave the research a significant boost, capturing minute-scale color shifts without missing. Furthermore, the products were designed with specific protective measures, such as waterproof casings, lens heating function, anti-fogging, and anti-icing features, to ensure stable operation in Himalaya’s freezing conditions.
The impact was immediate and profound. “Lake colors can shift within hours,” says Dr. Zhang. “With the new cameras, we can now maintain a continuous, high-resolution record of these shifts, which manual fieldwork can never achieve.”
From their research center thousands of miles away, the team can now observe the lakes in real-time. To date, the team has collected over 100TB of invaluable data. “With the data, we are now able to decode lake colors directly into water quality metrics,” Dr. Zhang explains. This provides a crucial scientific basis for predicting and preventing glacial lake outbursts and further influence.
The journey from manual labour to intelligent observation marks an innovative milestone for cryosphere research. As Dr. Zhang poetically puts it, the process is like braided rivers - seemingly chaotic at first, but quietly gathering strength until merging into a marvelous current. “Doing cryosphere research is a relay. What we do now may not pay off at once, but it matters for our shared world, and we are honored to be a part of it.” He smiles.
Guided by our THRIVE sustainability philosophy, Hikvision is committed to taking our responsibility to help address global climate change challenges. With UNESCO and WMO officially launching 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation and the inaugural year of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, the mission for glacier protection gains even greater attention and emphasis.
To respond to such a global call, Hikvision will continue to lend our hands to support ecological sustainability, empower those on the front lines of climate research with our technologies, and contribute to tackling global climate change. Together with our partners, we THRIVE for a better and greener future.
To know more about Hikvision’s sustainability initiative, please click here.
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