15 million people are under threat of flooding from glacial lakes, study reveals

According to a the study*, more than half of the people who are at risk – called “glacial lake eruption floods” – reside in only 4 countries: India, Pakistan, Peru e China.

Experts reveal that a flood from a glacial lake is like a “tsunami on land”, but with little or no prior warning, which can be compared to the sudden collapse of a dam.

One of the most devastating floods of this type occurred in Peru in 1941 and killed between 1.800 and 6 people.

While it remains unclear how much of last year's flooding Paquistão were linked to glacial melting, the country is home to more glaciers than anywhere else in the world outside the polar regions. In 2022 alone, there have been at least 16 incidents at glacial lakes in the Gilgit-Baltistan region in the north of the country – significantly more than the 5 or 6 events observed in previous years, scientists said.

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Reduction of the ice sheet in the Southern Ocean breaks record and accelerates global warming

The summer reduction (typical of summer) of the ice sheet in the Southern Ocean reached a record in January, much higher than the previous one, recorded in January 2017 — announced the Copernicus Climate Change Observatory (C3S), of the European Union, this Wednesday. fair (8). On the continent – ​​which experienced record temperatures in 2022 – the extent of sea ice was, in January, 31% lower than average, the lowest level ever reached in the first month of the year, details the observatory.

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