A massive flood in Uttarakhand's Joshimath area on Sunday is a rare incident of a glacial burst, and may be "a climate change event", say leading climate scientists.

Satellite and Google Earth images do not show a glacial lake near the region, but there is a possibility that there may be a water pocket, or lake inside the glacier, in the region that may have erupted leading to the disaster, Mohd. Farooq Azam, who is an Assistant Professor at IIT Indore, told IANS.