Ahead of monsoon season, China begins sharing hydrological data for Brahmaputra with India

China has begun sharing hydrological data with India on the Brahmaputra river for this year's monsoon season, a senior Water Resources Ministry official said Monday. 

It is also expected to start sharing data on the Sutlej river from June 1, the start of monsoon season in the country, the official said.

The Brahmaputra originates in China's Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It later drains into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh.

Sutlej, a tributary of the Indus, also originates in Tibet, and flows into India and then enters Pakistan.

China provides data from three hydrological stations Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia located on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra, also known as Yarlung Zangbo    Data for the Sutlej, also known as the Langqen Zangbo, is provided by the hydrological station at Tsada.

The data is necessary for flood management downstream when the rivers swell due to rains.

Following the Dokalam stand-off, China had stopped sharing the data on the Brahmaputra river in 2017, claiming that the hydrological data gathering sites were washed away due to floods. 

However, with relations thawing, the two sides again resumed sharing of data in 2018. They also signed two Memorandum of Understandings for this. 

The Brahmaputra data is shared from May 15, while in case of Sutlej it starts from June 1 till October 15. 

Last year, China provided data even beyond October 15 after the Brahmaputra witnessed the formation of a lake due to a landslide that increased the water levels upstream.