15m Face Threat Of Flooding From Glacial Lakes

News Desk

Up to 15 million people face risk of catastrophic flooding from glacial lakes which could burst their natural dams at any moment, a new study finds.

The study led by Newcastle University is the first global attempt to map potential hotspots for such floods. Glaciers recede as the temperature warms, and meltwater accumulates to form lakes.

Global warming has increased the size and number of glacial lakes globally but its effects on glacial lake floods are still unknown. The Nature Communications study examined the state of lakes and how many people now live downstream from them, both of which have grown dramatically.

“There are a large number of people globally exposed to the impacts of these floods,” said Newcastle University Glaciologist Rachel Carr.

“It could happen at any point – that’s what makes them particularly dangerous, because it’s hard to predict exactly when they will happen,” Carr added.

According to the study, people who reside in mountainous countries of Asia and South America are most at risk. More over half of individuals at danger are residents of India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. An estimated million people in Asia reside barely 10 kilometres from a glacier lake.

Dr Rachel Carr said, “What matters is how close people are to the lakes and their ability to react in an emergency.”

Natural dams of loose rocks and ice that are present in lakes created by melting glaciers can break unexpectedly and rapidly. The subsequent floods are swift and intense, and they frequently have enough strength to cause destruction. The subsequent floods arrive thick and fast, and they are frequently strong enough to destroy important infrastructure.

Although complex, dam breakdowns are sometimes caused when a piece of rock or ice falls into the lake from the neighbouring mountains. As a result, a wave spreads across the lake like a tsunami and topples the dam as it approaches. The steady accumulation of meltwater, escalating force exerted on the dam, and melting of any ice cores keeping it together are additional concerns.

According to research, a rise in floods that started in the early 20th Century and peaked in the 1970s may have been a belated reaction to previous climate shifts. Although scientists anticipate an increase in glacial floods as a result of human-caused climate change, there hasn’t yet been one.