MORE FREQUENT FLOODING

Partial photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos

The “Third Pole” of the Earth,the high mountain ranges of Asia,bears the largest number of glaciers outside the polar regions.The flood threat to communities and infrastructure from new lakes forming in front of rapidly retreating glaciers in this area could almost triple. Important new risk hotspots will emerge, including within politically sensitive transboundary regions of the Himalaya and Pamir. When water is suddenly released from these lakes through failure or overtopping of the dam, glacial lake outburst floods can devastate lives and livelihoods up to hundreds of kilometres downstream, extending across international borders to create transboundary risks.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210506125809.htm