At least 15 million people around the world live in dangerous glacial lake floodpaths that can suddenly burst levees and plummet down mountainsides.
A study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications is the latest warning about the threat posed by melting mountain ice. More than half of the people in inundation routes are concentrated in four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
Glacial lakes are large pools of meltwater that form at the base of shrinking glaciers. These lakes can become dangerous and unpredictable as they expand. If the water level gets too high or the lake walls collapse, the lake boundary can suddenly rupture and torrents of water run down the side of the mountain.
These “glacial lake outburst floods,” as scientists call them, can be devastating, crushing homes, flattening hydroelectric projects and destroying other infrastructure in their path. there is. They are known to cause hundreds of deaths when they occur.
Scientists worry that these events are poised to increase. Mountain glaciers, from the Andes to the Himalayas to the European Alps, are shrinking as global temperatures rise.
A recent study found that glaciers outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are likely losing nearly 300 billion tons of ice each year. These losses have accelerated over time.
Meanwhile, studies show that glacial lakes are getting bigger. All over the world its area, quantity and total number are increasing.
Now, a new study finds that millions of people live directly on their streets.
Researchers have developed a global assessment of glacial lake flood risk by examining people living within 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) of bodies of water generally accepted to be at risk if the lake bursts. I did. They also examined levels of human development in these zones to assess how vulnerable communities are when floods occur.
They found that around 15 million people worldwide live in the 50-kilometer danger zone of glacial lakes. About 62% of them live in Alpine Asia, a region stretching from the Hindu Kush to the eastern Himalayas. Pakistan and China face the greatest risks, with about 2 million and her 1 million living at risk, respectively.
Communities in Alpine Asia tend to be located closest to the danger zone, with a total of about 1 million people living within 6 miles of a glacial lake. These communities are less likely to benefit from early warning systems and more likely to be devastated.
The study also found that Alpine Asia and the Andes tended to have higher levels of political corruption and lower levels of human development. As a result, communities lose access to early warning systems and other disaster resources, increasing their vulnerability to disaster impacts. glacier flood.
Places like the Arctic, which includes Canada, Greenland, and surrounding areas, tend to face much lower risks despite having many glaciers. Low level of social vulnerability to disasters.
The study highlights the fact that the risk of glacial flooding does not depend solely on the number and size of local glacial lakes. The population of the area, the proximity of the community to the danger zone, and the level of social vulnerability are all important as well.
The study also notes that some of the world’s most vulnerable places may not have received enough scientific attention compared to the risks they face.
Between 1990 and 2015, researchers found most published studies of glacial lake outburst floods focused on the Hindu Kush and Karakorum mountains in North America, Iceland, and Asia. Since 2017, the Himalayas have emerged as a key research area.
But the Andes, highlighted in new research as one of the world’s most vulnerable regions over the past 40 years, have been the subject of less than 8% of all research on the topic.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
