Critical warning after floods in Nepal: Larger ones may come, 15 million people in danger!

Following the flood disaster on the Nepal-Tibet border, where hundreds are reported to have lost their lives and more than 1,500 are missing, scientists have warned that similar risks are growing in high mountainous regions. According to experts, climate change is accelerating the melting of glaciers, while the thawing of frozen ground and the destabilization of mountain slopes are paving the way for new floods.

Research estimates that approximately 15 million people worldwide live in areas at risk of devastating floods linked to glacial lakes. It is noted that the highest danger is concentrated in Asia's high mountain belt, which includes the Himalayas, the Karakoram, and the Hindu Kush.

RISK IS NOT LIMITED TO ASIA ALONE

According to data, more than half of the population threatened by glacial lake outburst floods lives in India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. It is estimated that approximately 3 million people in India and 2 million in Pakistan are at risk.

Scientists state that Canada and the Pacific Northwest in North America, the Alps in Europe, and the Andes in South America are among the regions that should be monitored carefully. It is noted that the number of glacial lakes in the Andes has increased by 93 percent since 1990, while this increase is at the 37 percent level in High Mountain Asia.

According to the initial analysis by experts, the recent disaster in Nepal began when a rockfall on Langtang-Lirung Mountain triggered a glacier collapse. A mass of ice, rock, water, and sediment moved down the slope, temporarily blocking the Lhende Khola River. With the collapse of the resulting natural dam, a large amount of water flowed into the valley, causing the devastating flood.

Although initial reports claimed the event might have been caused by an earthquake, it was reported that subsequent data points to a rockfall and the associated glacier collapse as the primary cause. Scientists emphasize that the event in Nepal was not technically a direct Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF); however, they stress that similar processes could lead to larger disasters in the same fragile mountain environments.

Dr. Jonathan Carrivick from the University of Leeds states that climate change is heating up mountainous regions, melting frozen soil and glaciers, which increases the likelihood of such events occurring more frequently and on a larger scale. Dr. Matt Westoby from the University of Plymouth also points out that High Mountain Asia is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world.

According to researchers, China, Pakistan, Peru, Canada, India, the USA, Chile, Italy, Nepal, and Colombia are among the countries most at risk from glacial lake outburst floods. Experts state that the exact time and location of these disasters cannot be predicted; however, due to climate change and the increasing population in high-risk areas, events similar to the disaster in Nepal may come to the agenda more frequently in the future.