"Nepal's Mega Floods Not an Isolated Incident"... South America's Andes Also Face Glacier Collapse Fears

Following the recent massive floods in Nepal caused by events in the Himalayas, fear of catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods driven by climate change is spreading across countries in South America's Andes mountain range.

Experts have warned that as global warming accelerates the melting of the Andean ice sheet, three South American nations—Argentina, Chile, and Peru—are left defenselessly exposed to the risks of destructive floods and landslides.

Synthesizing reports from UPI and local media on September 1, rising temperatures in mountainous regions have recently led to the formation of numerous unstable lakes where glaciers have melted.

Consequently, if melting glaciers weaken rock slopes or ice walls and cause them to collapse into these lakes, there is an escalating risk of Nepal-style glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), where massive volumes of water and sediment surge downstream.

Juan Pablo Milana, a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina, emphasized in an interview with local media outlet Infobae that "the tragedy that occurred in Nepal has already happened in South America before."

In fact, back in 2005, the outburst of Lake Los Erizos in San Juan Province, Argentina, released 31 million cubic meters of water in just 67 minutes, sweeping down over 250 kilometers.

Fortunately, because almost no one lived in the affected area, there were no casualties.

Currently, major areas such as the Patagonian tourist city of El Chalten in Argentina remain exposed to the threat of collapses involving lakes like Lake Torre.

Additionally, lakes formed by the melting of massive glaciers, such as the Upsala Glacier, are also turning into potential threats.

For example, in 2003, an accident occurred where an ice wall near the Upsala Glacier collapsed due to water pressure and rising temperatures.

This caused a massive volume of trapped water and glacier fragments to pour all at once into the Onelli Bay area, generating tsunami-level waves.

Chile, home to more than 26,000 glaciers, has also been placed on high alert.

This is because Chile relies on the Andean river system not only in its remote Patagonia regions, but also for hydroelectric power plants, mines, and the drinking water infrastructure of millions of people in the capital and central regions, raising concerns of severe economic and social blows in the event of glacier collapses.

Dario Ormeño, a geology professor at Chile's Universidad Andres Bello, noted in a recent local radio interview that "compared to the Himalayas, Chile's glaciers are smaller in scale and have smaller elevation differences, making the likelihood of a Nepal-scale mega disaster small," while diagnosing that "however, landslides themselves are a real threat that can happen at any time."

Chilean government agencies are leveraging satellite imagery and radar technology to periodically update the national glacier database, striving to strengthen early warning systems by real-time detection of glacial lake expansion and fractures on the slopes of the Andes.

While warning lights have turned on for Argentina and Chile, Peru is facing the most urgent crisis.

According to Peru's National Institute for Glacier and Mountain Ecosystem Research, 528 lakes in Peru carry the risk of overflowing, and 58 of these are classified as "high-risk."

In particular, Lake Palcacocha, located upstream of the city of Huaraz where more than 120,000 people reside, is cited as the highest-risk area.

This is because if a portion of a glacier melted by global warming were to break off into this lake—which holds over 17 million cubic meters of water—a massive wave could breach the embankment and swallow the entire downtown area in less than an hour.

This region also has a historical precedent from 1941, when an overflow of the same lake destroyed one-third of the city and killed thousands of people.

Amidst such risks, governments across South America are mobilizing satellite surveillance and hydrological sensors to build early warning systems, but criticisms point out that existing disaster prevention infrastructure falls woefully short of handling the speed and scale of collapses.

Experts warn that unless the upward trend in temperatures is curbed, climate disasters surging through mountain valleys will continue to threaten the energy and water supply networks of major South American cities as well as the lives of their residents.

Researcher Milana warned, "The tragedy in Nepal is a reality that can recur in the South American Andes at any time," adding, "Unless continuous monitoring and preventive infrastructure are backed up, climate disasters surging through mountain valleys will continue to threaten the energy and water networks of major South American cities and the lives of residents."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.