Science

Himalayan Glacier Timeline 1985-2026: GLOFs, Nepal Floods and Climate Risk

The Himalayan glacier timeline spans four decades of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), rock-and-ice avalanches and compound rainfall disasters across Nepal…

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DIG TSHO GLOF

Dig Tsho glacial lake outburst flood shocks researchers

An ice avalanche struck the moraine-dammed Dig Tsho lake in Nepal's Khumbu region. The end moraine dam collapsed and the lake drained downstream over roughly four hours,…

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MONITORING EXPANDS

Glacial-lake monitoring expands across the region

Following Dig Tsho, scientists and regional institutions began mapping dangerous Himalayan glacial lakes more systematically through the 1990s and 2000s. Glacier and gla…

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KEDARNATH DISASTER

Kedarnath: a compound rainfall-and-lake disaster

Rainfall roughly three to four times heavier than normal, combined with rapid snowmelt, raised water levels in the moraine-dammed Chorabari Lake above Kedarnath. The lak…

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CHAMOLI AVALANCHE

Chamoli: the disaster first mistaken for a GLOF

About 27 million cubic metres of rock and glacier ice detached from the steep north face of Ronti Peak and became a highly mobile debris flow. Early reports called it a…

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SOUTH LHONAK GLOF

South Lhonak, Sikkim: a true glacial lake outburst flood

The moraine-dammed South Lhonak Lake released a catastrophic flood after an unstable lateral moraine mass collapsed into it, generating a roughly 20-metre wave that brea…

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THAME GLOF CASCADE

Thame: a two-lake glacial outburst above an Everest-region village

A rock avalanche struck a glacial lake at about 4,900 m, generating a displacement wave that breached the lake and fell onto a second lake below, breaching its moraine d…

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RASUWA FLOOD

Rasuwa: a transboundary glacial flood hits the border corridor

Rapid growth and sudden drainage of a supraglacial lake on the Purepu Glacier in Tibet's Gyirong County sent a flood down the Lhende River and across the border into Nep…

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NEPAL-CHINA COLLAPSE

Nepal-China border: a glacier collapse devastates the Gyirong crossing

A large section of glacier and rock detached on the Tibetan side of the border and fell roughly 1,200 metres, becoming an ice-rock avalanche that temporarily dammed the…

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