Does the Nepal glacier collapse signal a new climate risk?

The collapse of a section of a glacier in Nepal's Himalayas triggered devastating floods, potentially signaling new climate risks, according to scientists. The disaster claimed at least 584 lives and left over 2,400 people missing. Once a piece of mountain is removed, nearby pieces may also collapse, escalating the risk, as Simon Cox, a principal scientist at New Zealand's GNS Science research institute, explained to AFP.

The resulting flood was generated by a glacier collapse that released energy equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake and caused numerous landslides. Glaciologist Etienne Berthier of the French National Centre for Scientific Research told AFP that we can't rule out the risk of similar phenomena occurring elsewhere. The region's terrain and high tectonic activity amplify the likelihood of such events on a large scale.

Other regions, such as Alaska, may also have similarly dynamic glaciers, but these incidents often take place in uninhabited areas. Scientists warn that rockfalls and landslides triggered by earthquakes or thawing permafrost, which are being accelerated by climate change, pose a greater threat than entire sections of a mountain collapsing.

In the Alps, a record number of rockfalls occurred this year, many of which were fatal—primarily attributed to the climate crisis, according to CNRS geomorphologist Ludovic Ravanel. In Switzerland, the municipality of Randa fears a glacier collapse in the coming days and has established safety perimeters after several rockfalls.

The cause of the Nepal disaster remains uncertain, pending an attribution study to analyze whether climate change played a role. While climate change is altering glaciers, snow conditions, permafrost, and mountain slopes across the Himalayas, it is too early to determine its specific impact on this event.