Scientists say a collapsed glacier near Langtang Lirung peak caused a devastating flash flood on the Nepal‑Tibet border, claiming at least 177 lives.
Initial reports linked the disaster to an earthquake, but US Geological Survey (USGS) data show the event registered a magnitude of 5.2, attributable solely to a glacial collapse.
A glacier fragment in Nepal’s Langtang range collapsed in a north‑westerly direction and slid into the valley downstream, generating a surge that flooded villages and swept people away.
Dr. Simon Cook of the University of Dundee confirmed the collapse and estimated the debris and water moved downstream, shocking local communities.
It is unclear what triggered the collapse. Scientists warn that rapid glacier melt, rising temperatures, and thawing permafrost in the Himalayas are making such events more likely.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) reported that Himalayan glaciers are losing ice at twice the rate since 2000, increasing flood risk upstream.
Similar glacier collapse–driven floods have occurred in India, Switzerland, Italy and last year in Nepal’s neighbouring Tibetan region.
In 2021, a glacier collapse in Chamoli, India, killed 200 people and produced an impact equivalent to 15 atomic bombs.
Expert analysis shows an ice‑rock avalanche from high altitude poured huge volumes of debris into a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river, raising water levels by 7–9 metres in 30 minutes.
Images of the flood reveal steep valley sides with trails of mud and gouged vegetation, illustrating the scale of the disaster.
Images from the scene show the steep sides of the affected valley.
The rapid rise in climate‑related hazards in the cryosphere is becoming increasingly visible, experts say, “the pace of change is so rapid that current efforts are struggling to keep up.”
When the black‑clocked mountain climate destabilises, we see landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, and glacier collapses.
