Millions at Risk”/ UN Warns: Melting Glaciers Increase Threat to the Himalayas

Accelerating glacier melt and the destabilization of mountainous terrain, driven by climate change, are exposing the Himalayan region to a serious risk of glacial lake flooding, a senior United Nations official has warned.

The warning follows last week’s catastrophic floods in Nepal, triggered by a glacier collapse, where the reported death toll has surpassed 1,000.

Kani Vignaraya, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), told Reuters that the risk to communities living along Himalayan rivers is growing.

“The population at risk runs into the millions,” Vignaraya said, referring to updated data collected by the UNDP and partner organizations in June.

According to her, the threat is not limited to hydropower generation. Millions of people living in areas along riverbanks could face conditions that make those areas effectively uninhabitable.

“Technology cannot evolve quickly enough to prevent losses along these major river systems, which are facing flooding caused by glacial lakes,” she said.

In 2020, researchers identified 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal, China and India. Since then, experts believe the actual number has increased significantly.

The latest flooding in Nepal was caused by the collapse of part of a glacier near Langtang Lirung peak. Ice and earth slid into the valley, creating a powerful surge that swept into the Trishuli River.

This type of flooding is not the same as that caused by the breaching of glacial lakes, known by the acronym GLOF.

GLOF floods occur when water from melting glaciers collects behind a natural dam. As pressure builds, the dam can burst or overflow, suddenly releasing a large volume of water and causing devastating damage downstream.

UN officials say both threats are increasing as climate change accelerates glacier melt in the region. This process adds water to glacial lakes, destabilizes slopes and rocks, and increases pressure on natural dams.

Potentially dangerous glacial lakes have been identified across large areas of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region.

However, Vignaraya stressed that no other country in the region relies on glaciers to the same extent as Nepal, both for its water supply and for its economy and income.

“We face some very, very difficult choices,” she said.

For millions of people living near rivers, relocating to higher ground may not be an economically viable solution.

The risk also affects critical infrastructure. According to the UNDP, the recent floods in Nepal destroyed 15 major hydropower plants that were still under construction, in addition to damaging facilities that were already operational.

Vignaraya said power grids and hydropower plants could be made more resilient to flooding through new technologies and more effective protective measures.

However, she emphasized that extreme events such as the wave of mud and ice created by last week’s disaster could overwhelm even the most advanced defense systems.

“There is no structure that could have stopped it,” the UN official said.