Scientists Call For Monitoring Systems As Warming Swells Glacial Lakes

[hatrack]

"Environmentalists are warning that the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas could spell disaster for millions of people living in the region. They claim the situation is not being adequately monitored; the last studies having been done in the 1990s.

Swelling glacial lakes would increase the risk of catastrophic flooding. In the long term, the glaciers could disappear altogether, causing several rivers to shrink and threatening the survival of those who depend on them. "It is high time we did field studies to assess the situation or else a big natural catastrophe could hit us anytime," said Arun Bhakta Shrestha from Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

There are 3,300 glaciers in the Nepalese Himalayas and 2,300 of them contain glacial lakes. These lakes are quietly growing due to global warming, but no one is keeping a close eye on them, environmentalists say. Nobody knows how many are close to bursting, and no steps have been taken to establish early warning systems for the villages downstream. A burst lake would cause flash floods which could sweep away people, houses, roads and bridges in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.

Such disasters have already happened more than a dozen times around Nepal in the last 70 years. A glacial lake burst in Khumbu, Nepal, in 1985, killing at least 20 people. It also washed away a hydropower station, a trekking trail and numerous bridges. Despite the real threat, no systematic research has taken place since the mid-1990s."

EDIT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3998967.stm