A significant threat posed by climate change in the Himalayas is the continual formation of a large number of glacial lakes. The lakes consist of vast quantities of glacial melt water held in place by natural dams of stone and rubble. The enhanced rate at which the snow and ice is melting means that the water accumulating in these lakes is increasing rapidly. And if the natural rubble dams holding back the waters break, a tsunami of water, mud, ice, and stone is swept down the valleys. Such events can have devastating consequences to infrastructure and local communities; washing away roads, bridges, houses, people, livestock and crops.

A constant threat

One example is Lake Imja, a high altitude glacial lake near Mount Everest in the Himalayas, Nepal. The lake has been formed by the accelerated melt of the Imja glacier as a result of climate change. The continued glacial melt, bad weather, a landslide, or a seismic event (common in the area) could at any moment trigger the bursting of its swollen waters; releasing a violent 'Glacial Lake Outburst Flood' (GLOF). This poses a constant threat to the lives, livelihoods, and communities of the Sherpa villages situated along the flood route below. With a recent history in the area of other catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Floods the local people know all too well the constant threat that hangs over them.

Find out how local communities are dealing with this threat >>