Sudden Deluge From Clear Skies... Growing Fear of 'Glacier Collapse'

[Anchor]

As you saw earlier, this massive flood struck suddenly without a drop of rain, and its destructive power was far greater than that of a flood caused by heavy rain.

How did such a glacial flood occur, and what is the extent of the additional risks? Reporter Seo Donggyun has the details.

[Reporter]

Ice in high-altitude regions like the Himalayas forms when more snow accumulates than melts.

However, over the past 30 years, temperatures in Nepal have risen rapidly by 0.02 to 0.16 degrees Celsius annually depending on the region.

Naturally, the surface area of glaciers has decreased.

They have been disappearing at a rate of 1 to 5 square kilometers every year.

When glaciers collapse, floods can generally occur in two ways.

First, when massive glaciers break off, the ice and rocks swept down together can block rivers, creating natural dams.

As water builds up behind them, these dams can suddenly collapse, leading to flooding.

Weight is being given to the possibility that Nepal's recent massive flood occurred in this manner.

There is also another possibility.

Lakes formed by accumulated meltwater from glaciers are called glacial lakes, and when these glacial lakes suffer external impacts and collapse, they can also cause flash floods.

According to recent studies, 189 such floods have occurred in the Himalayas since 1900, killing some 6,600 people.

The danger is growing steadily.

Over the past 30 years, the area of Himalayan glacial lakes has increased by 0.83% annually, and their number reaches about 2,000.

An analysis of some 550 glacial lakes in the border region between China and Nepal showed that 26% of them have a high risk of collapse, according to research findings.

Glacier collapse can lead to even faster glacier collapses.

[Kim Baek-min / Professor, Department of Environmental Atmospheric Sciences, Pukyong National University : Because snow melts (due to global warming), the white-colored effect of reflecting sunlight decreases, which accelerates global warming twofold or threefold.]

While it is too early to conclude that climate change is the direct cause of this massive flood, it is clear that climate change is increasing potential flood risks.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min, Design: Park Chun-woong, Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.