Formed in the shadow of Mount Everest, the turquoise depths of Nepal's Imja glacial lake would be a breathtaking miracle of nature to behold—were they not a portent of catastrophic floods. Experts told the government that the gigantic glacial lakes were effectively a ticking time bomb. With thousands of lives at stake, a massive undertaking began in late 2016 to drain Imja, which then measured 150 metres deep and two kilometres (1.2 miles) long. Only the second operation of its kind in Nepal's history, the project was a testament to the monumental challenge posed by glacial lakes, which are often remote and very difficult to access. In this case, over 80 percent of the money came from the Global Environment Facility, an international fund that provides green financing to developing countries. The rest was covered by UNDP.
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