Over 25,000 Glacial Lakes Formed as 90,000 Glaciers Melt... "Ticking Time Bombs"

[Anchor]

According to an investigation by Chinese authorities, the massive flood in Nepal was triggered by the collapse of a glacier at an altitude of 5,200 meters. Experts warn that there are over 90,000 such glaciers in Asia's mountainous regions, along with some 25,000 glacial lakes formed by their melting, raising concerns about potential recurrence of floods at any time.

Reporter Jeong Banseok has the details.

[Reporter]

Around a glacier 5,000 meters above sea level southeast of Mount Everest, only a few small puddles existed in 1956.

A compilation of satellite imagery spanning 30 years from 1989 shows the glacial lake expanding progressively, doubling in area.

As temperatures rose, the eastern glacier collapsed and the ice at the bottom of the lake melted.

Compared to 1962, the area expanded 45-fold over 50 years, and as of 2014, the maximum depth was recorded at 150 meters, equivalent to a 50-story apartment building.

In the mountainous regions of Asia, there are approximately 95,000 glaciers—comparable in size to the entire territory of South Korea—and about 25,000 lakes formed by their melting.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development projects that if global warming continues, up to 75% of the glaciers in this region could melt by 2100.

[Nie Yong / Researcher, Chinese Academy of Sciences: Over the past decades, glacial lakes have expanded rapidly in the Himalayan region along China's southern border. Observations show that the area of glacial lakes is increasing by about 1% every year.]

An American geologist who studied Nepal's glaciers also warned in an op-ed for The New York Times that glaciers along the China-Nepal border have already collapsed dozens of times since 1900, noting that giant glacial lakes could become "ticking time bombs."

[Felipe Ugalde / Geologist, University of Chile: It is always better to prevent than to react after things happen. However, preventing threats from glaciers is not simple. Additional research is needed and the instability of glaciers must be monitored.]

The scientific community urges nations around the world to work together to study glacier conditions and build early warning capacities.

(Video Editing: Jeong Yong-hwa, Design: Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.