Nepal Floods Expose Growing Instability Across the Himalayas
· World · ABC News (AU), Indian Express
A mud and flood disaster in Nepal has left thousands missing and the death toll rising, with dozens of bridges washed away and large stretches of road destroyed. Rescue operations through the rugged Himalayan terrain are being hampered by the obliterated infrastructure. Glacier expert Professor Umesh Haritashya, of the University of Dayton, said the region is warming faster than the global average and that glacial lakes held back by loose sediment pose a direct threat to mountain communities. His research has catalogued more than 1,466 glacial lakes in the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, most formed since the second half of the 20th century. The article was cut off while describing how avalanches or rockfalls crashing into these lakes can trigger massive displacement waves downstream.
Why it matters
Himalayan communities from Nepal to northern India and Bhutan face rising risk of catastrophic floods and landslides as warming destabilises the slopes and glacial lakes they live below.
Read the original report — ABC News (AU)
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