Science
Climate crisis probably weakened glacier that caused devastating Nepal-Tibet floods, first study finds
Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in August
Published
Climate breakdown probably weakened the glacier that collapsed causing catastrophic floods and killing over a thousand people in Nepal and Tibet last month, the first scientific study of the disaster has found.
Researchers identified unusually warm conditions before the glacier’s collapse, which sent an avalanche of 110m cubic metres (3.885bn cu ft) of snow and ice into the valley below. This triggered flash floods on an almost unprecedented scale, hitting communities downstream without warning.
