Nepal is facing an escalating threat from glacial lake outburst floods, a risk amplified by climate change and increasing human settlement in vulnerable areas, according to experts.
The Himalayan region is home to millions who face severe risks from these events in the coming years. Government officials attribute the rising danger to climate change, which is accelerating the melting of glaciers and the formation of glacial lakes.
"They have always had these flooding events," said an expert cited by Time. "It's just that now we have a lot more people and infrastructure in these steep valleys. What 100 years ago maybe would have killed dozens of people now kills hundreds of thousands of people."
The impact of these floods is magnified by the fact that areas once sparsely populated are now more densely inhabited. Infrastructure development in narrow, steep valleys has placed more people and assets directly in the path of potential floodwaters.
Experts suggest that Nepal lacks robust early warning systems, which could be crucial for facilitating timely evacuations and mitigating casualties. In contrast, a landslide in Switzerland last year that buried a village resulted in only one fatality, largely due to the presence of effective warning systems.
"We know about the threat, and we're not completely helpless," stated a professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences. "We can adapt, and while we can't prevent the process from occurring, we can limit the impacts again, mostly by setting up these warning systems, and having the right plans in place."