Lost Nanda Devi Spy Device Raises Cold War Environmental Concerns

In 1965, U.S. and Indian intelligence services placed a listening device powered by a nuclear source on Nanda Devi, a mountain in the Himalayas, to monitor China’s nuclear and missile tests. The team was forced to abandon the device because of severe snowstorms and later could not recover it. The device contained plutonium, which could pose an environmental risk if it is released by melting ice. The operation remained secret for decades, but the release of documents has renewed debate in India and the United States. The case has drawn attention to how Cold War intelligence operations could overlook both harsh natural conditions and environmental danger. It remains one of the more unusual episodes in the history of espionage in the Himalayas.