Collapsed glacier likely caused devastating Nepal-Tibet floods, scientists say

Dr Cook pointed out that there have been similar incidents of floods and landslides caused by glacier collapses in India, Switzerland and Italy in recent years.

In 2021, a large chunk of a Himalayan glacier collapsed in the valley of Chamoli in northern India, sending a cascade of debris and water downstream that killed 200 people. Scientists later estimated that the impact of the collapse was equivalent to 15 atomic bombs.

Even in Nepal, the same region saw flooding last year caused by a glacial lake in Tibet bursting.

Mohd Farooq Azam, a specialist with ICIMOD, said the increasing frequency of hazards in the cryosphere — or the frozen parts of the Earth — “is becoming more visible than ever before. The pace of change is so rapid.”

While it is difficult to say whether any single event is caused by climate change, “when you look at the pattern of these events, you do think climate change could have an impact,” said Dr Cook.

“The logic is that with a warming planet, you will see shrinking glaciers, lots of snow melt. The permafrost that is partially holding some mountainsides together is warming and thawing and degrading.”

“So you are going to get more landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, glacier collapses, because climate warming ultimately destabilises these high mountain environments.”