4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Tibet, Highlighting Region's Seismic Risk

The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.

In a post on X, NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.1, On: 25/12/2025 13:07:44 IST, Lat: 32.04 N, Long: 85.38 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet."

Earlier in the day, another earthquake of magnitude 3.5 struck the region at a depth of 10km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 3.5, On: 25/12/2025 12:04:27 IST, Lat: 27.91 N, Long: 87.48 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet."

Shallow earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking and potentially more damage to structures and greater casualties.

The Tibetan Plateau is known for its seismic activity due to tectonic plate collisions.

Tibet and Nepal lie on a major geological fault line where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence as a result of it. The region is seismically active due to tectonic uplift that can become sufficiently strong to alter the elevations of the Himalayan peaks.

The Tibetan Plateau attains its high elevation due to crustal thickening caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates, which created the Himalayas. Faulting within the plateau is associated with strike-slip and normal mechanisms. The plateau extends east-west, as evidenced by north-south-striking grabens, strike-slip faulting, and GPS data.

In the northern region, strike-slip faulting constitutes the dominant style of tectonics, while in the south, the dominant tectonic domain is east-west extension on north-south trending normal faults.

Seven north-south trending rifts and normal faults were first discovered in southern Tibet during the late 1970s and early 1980s using satellite imagery. They began formation when extension occurred some 4 to 8 million years ago.

The largest earthquakes in Tibet, with magnitudes of 8.0 or similar, occur along strike-slip faults. Normal faulting earthquakes are smaller in magnitude; in 2008, five normal faulting earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.9 to 7.1 occurred in various locations across the plateau.

- ANI