Geoscientist Jakob Steiner described the recent incident in Nepal’s Himalayas as resembling a massive piece of a glacier being sliced off and plummeting down a mountain cliff, creating a 1,300-metre-wide gap. This event led to a significant release of ice, rock, and sediment that formed a temporary dam, causing a lake to form. Once the lake filled with the glacier’s water, it breached the dam, resulting in a destructive flood that affected villages downstream on both sides of the border.
The aftermath of this calamity has led to the formation of additional lakes, raising concerns about potential further ruptures that could exacerbate the already devastating impact. The tragic incident has claimed the lives of at least 579 individuals, with around 1,400 people still missing in Nepal, including 32 Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Local indigenous communities had long warned climbers about the mountain, Langtang Lirung, known as an “angry mountain,” a caution that has sadly proven accurate with recurring disasters over the years. While some climate scientists are cautious about directly attributing this event solely to human-induced climate change, experts studying glacier hydrology and the effects of global warming on the cryosphere have been warning about such catastrophic events, especially in the Himalayan region.
John Pomeroy, the director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Hydrology, emphasized the increasing frequency of such devastating events due to climate change, which is rapidly deteriorating natural infrastructure.
The progression of climate change has set the stage for tragedies like the recent glacier collapse in Nepal. Manjueet Dhakal, a climate scientist in Kathmandu, highlighted the complexity of the Himalayan region and its vulnerability to global warming-induced stresses, such as altered precipitation patterns, accelerated glacier retreat, and permafrost thawing.
The risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) has escalated due to the greater volume of glacial lakes resulting from accelerated ice loss caused by global warming. Research indicates that millions of people living near glacial regions, particularly in the Himalayas, face heightened risks from GLOFs. The situation is critical in mountainous regions like Nepal, where communities are highly vulnerable to the impacts of such disasters.
Slobodan Simonović, an expert in catastrophic loss reduction, emphasized the long-lasting and multifaceted consequences of these floods, including severe damage to infrastructure and disruptions to water supply systems for downstream communities.
Jakob Steiner emphasized the importance of proactive measures and international cooperation to prevent such disasters, stressing the need for collective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit further global warming. The catastrophic event in Nepal underscores the urgency of addressing climate change to avoid future tragedies that may be impossible to adapt to effectively.