Damascus, Europe Brief News – More than 15 million people are at risk of catastrophic flooding from glacial lakes.
A new study led by Newcastle University revealed that the impact of global warming on glacial lake floods is yet to be defined, but it has increased both the volume and number of glacial lakes worldwide.
As the climate warms, glaciers retreat and meltwater collects, forming lakes.
The study published in the journal Nature Communications assessed the conditions of lakes and the number of people living downstream from them, which has also increased significantly.
‘There are a large number of people globally exposed to the impacts of these floods,” said Rachel Carr, a glaciologist at Newcastle University and an author on the paper.
“It could happen at any point – that’s what makes them particularly dangerous, because it’s hard to predict exactly when they will happen.”
The authors say those facing the greatest threat live in mountainous countries in Asia and South America.
People living in India, Pakistan, Peru and China account for over half of those at risk. In Asia, around one million people live within just 10km of a glacial lake.
“It’s how close people are to those lakes. Their capacity to respond to the disaster that’s important,” said Dr Carr.
“People have done a lot of inventory studies [of the lakes] … but our study has flipped that around.
“What’s downstream matters just as much, if not more. I think it’s an important reframing in the way we think about it.”
Lakes formed by melting glaciers have natural dams of loose rocks and ice that can fail suddenly and unpredictably.
The floods that follow come thick and fast, in many cases being powerful enough to destroy vital infrastructure.
