Climate change may increase risks of Himalayan rock and ice collapses, scientists say
Scientists say warming may have contributed to conditions behind a Himalayan flood that killed 165 people and left nearly 1,500 missing.
Kathmandu, Nepal. Climate change is creating conditions that can destabilise rock and ice in high mountain regions, increasing the likelihood of cascading disasters such as this week’s Himalayan flood along the Nepal-China border, scientists said.
The flood killed 165 people, while nearly 1,500 people, including at least 800 foreigners, remained missing on Thursday, authorities said.
Cause under analysis
Scientists are still analysing the exact cause of Wednesday’s disaster. They said it probably began with a major ice-rock avalanche on the northern slopes of Nepal’s Langtang Lirung peak, which collapsed into the Lhende Khola river on the Tibetan side.
The initial collapse triggered a multi-stage hazard chain across the border, damaging at least six major hydropower plants and infrastructure at the Gyirong Port trade hub.
River channels were also altered more than 100 kilometres downstream near the Indian border.
Effects of warming
Simon Cox, chief scientist at the Mountains to Sea programme at Earth Sciences New Zealand, said climate change was generating conditions that could destabilise high-mountain rock and ice.
He said this could make collapses and related cascading hazards more frequent.
Scientists cautioned that climate change should not be described as the sole immediate trigger of the collapse. However, they said rising temperatures and glacier melt probably contributed to the conditions behind the disaster.
Warming can reduce ice support on steep slopes, increase meltwater and alter freezing, thawing and rainfall patterns, weakening mountainsides and increasing the likelihood of large collapses in some areas, Cox said.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →