A cloudburst erupted in the South Lhonak Lake on the intervening night of October 3-4. This triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin in Sikkim

The event also resulted in the breach of the Chungthang dam, which is the largest hydropower project in Sikkim.

A 2021 study, published in the journal Geomorphology, highlighted that South Lhonak Lake had witnessed a significant growth in the past decades due to glacial retreat, thereby increasing its chances of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF).

A study published in the journal Nature earlier this year stated that 15 million people worldwide are exposed to potential GLOF impacts.