WHAT Affect DOES CLIMATE CHANGE HAVE?
Even if climate can be stopped at 1.5 degree Fahrenheit, the disappearance of glaciers is being driven by climate change, with half of the Earth’s 215 000 glacier projected to melt by the end of this century.
According to a 2020 study based on satellite files, the size of glacial lake has increased by 50 % in 30 years.
The risk to populations inland increases as rivers get bigger and bigger.
In addition to causing glacier lake, climate change can also create the conditions that lead to dam vulnerabilities.
According to Vargo,” We know that’s happening more as a result of climate change than the flood, which may be brought on by ice melting or these significant precipitation events.”
HOW RISKY ARE THESE Landslides?
GLOFs are particularly dangerous because they are unpredictable.
According to a study on the issue that was nationally forewarned this year, it is challenging to accurately estimate the likelihood of releasing GLOBs without in-depth and localized studies.
According to the study, which was published in Nature Communications, 15 million people reside within 1 km of a glacial lakes and 50 kilometers of possible flooding.
The area that includes parts of 12 countries, including India, Pakistan, China, and Nepal, is known as” High Mountains Asia ,” where the risk was greatest.
This is partially due to the fact that the place has more residents who live closer to glacial lakes than other regions of the world, which results in shorter caution times.
However, it also shows how vulnerable those populations are, as they might get less wealthy and ready to handle the unexpected appearance of severe floodwaters.
The authors noted that” the most hazardous basins … do not always host the most, or the largest, glacial lakes.”
” More, what matters most in determining overall GLOF risk is the large number of people and the diminished capacity of those individuals to cope with devastation.”
For instance, despite having half as many glacial lake in North America’s Pacific Northwest, mountain lake outburst storms in the High Mountains of Asia have claimed the lives of thousands of people.
In particular in the Himalayan region, which is still relatively unstudied, specialists have called for more studies on the dangers posed by GLOFs, as well as for better preparedness.
However, Vargo added,” The majority of what we can do in terms of reducing emissions is to try to slow down climate change and prevent the dangers of this from growing even more.”