Reported findings by the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalaya Studies (CESHS) about the rapid melting of a glacier in Arunachal Pradesh have sounded an alarm over a looming disaster in downstream areas. Ignoring this alert could prove to be catastrophic and lead to irreversible consequences. Apart from being a wake-up call on climate change impact, it is also a grim reminder that the temperature rise on account of the climate change in the region is much worse than perceived by the non-scientific community. Ironically, the issue of mitigation of glacier melting in the Himalayan region has not gained the public attention it deserves, even as images of catastrophe triggered by the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) of South Lhonak Lake in Sikkim in 2023 quickly fade from public memory.The CESHS study has found that the Khangri glacier of the Gorichen mountain range in Tawang is melting rapidly on account of climate change impact, aggravating flood risk with the consequent expansion of pro-glacial lakes, that is, the water bodies formed at the edge of a retreating glacier. Unlike a naturally formed earthen dam, the weak structure of glacial lake dams made of ice, sand, pebbles, debris and ice residue is prone to abrupt failure leading to the release of a large volume of water, triggering catastrophic floods downstream, according to the National Disaster Management Authority Guidelines on Management of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods. Arunachal Pradesh losing more than 100 glaciers over the past three decades has brought into focus the implementation of the National Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Mitigation Project (NGRMP), approved by the central government in April. The NGRMP is aimed at reducing the risks associated with GLOF, particularly in regions that are highly susceptible to such natural disasters. The objectives of the NGRMP project are preventing loss of life and reducing economic loss and damage to critical infrastructure due to GLOF and similar events; strengthening the early warning and monitoring capacities based on last-mile connectivity; strengthening scientific and technical capabilities in GLOF risk reduction and mitigation at local levels through strengthening of local-level institutions and communities; and usingindigenous knowledge and scientific cutting-edge mitigation measures to reduce and mitigate GLOF risk. Information provided by the central government in the Rajya Sabha highlights that the key initiatives under NGRMP include the creation of a scientific inventory of glacial lakes with the identification of high-risk glacial lakes using satellite analytics and expert validation, the installation of an Early Warning System and Automatic Weather Stations at key locations to ensure real-time monitoring, and the formation of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Technical Advisory Committee to guide and monitor implementations in coordination with leading institutions. The framework of risk mitigation has laid out a clear roadmap, but the real challenge is the availability of adequate funds for implementation and continuous research for updating data related to inventories of glacial lakes and GLOF risks. Research and studies to update these data require huge funding and logistics support, international collaboration, and procurement of advanced scientific equipment. Intensifying the scientific studies alongside mitigation measures is crucial, as implementing the mitigation measures has increasingly become a race against time given the alarming pace of glacier melting and formation of glacial lakes in the Himalayan region. The NDMA guidelines rightly emphasisebuilding community awareness to reduce loss of lives and properties as a result of GLOF-triggered flooding. It explains that, given the rarity of events like GLOFs, local communities are not too aware about their disastrous effects. Moreover, the outburst floods are sudden and cause disasters that affect localised areas, resulting in segregated losses; they do not receive appropriate attention due to their transitory nature and short-lived human memory. This explanation in the guidelines forms the foundation of community awareness building and the importance of preparedness for the eventualities. The lessons must be learnt from the GLOF-triggered catastrophe in Sikkim that high velocity of water released suddenly from a glacial lake provides little time for evacuation. The monitoring of the glacier retreat and lake formation, therefore, remains crucial to alert the communities living in the path of the potential downstream flow of water released from a glacial lake in time. Apart from structural mitigation measures, prioritising community-driven disaster risk reduction is essential, in which the communities play an active role in risk communication from one village to another, identification of hazards and applying their traditional knowledge in disaster risk reduction. The communities living further downstream realising that GLOF-triggered disaster is not just a transitory and momentary risk but also leads to long-term consequences of shortage of water availability in glacier-fed rivers is critical to enlarging the scope of community-driven awareness building in the entire basin of glacier-fed rivers and their tributaries. Efforts to build awareness on GLOF and associated disaster risk can significantly contribute towards broadening the public understanding of the climate change impact that accelerates glacier melting and builds resilience.