Experts warn: glacier disasters are becoming more frequent as global warming intensifies
Environmental experts say that glacier disasters similar to the one that caused a devastating landslide on the China-Nepal border are becoming more frequent and more severe against the backdrop of global warming, warning of serious consequences if additional measures are not taken to slow the pace of climate change.
When ice that has been frozen on mountain peaks for centuries begins to melt rapidly and collapse downwards, it turns not just into water but into a destructive force capable of wiping out entire settlements. The tragedy in Gyirong is not an accident but a logical result of changes that humanity has been ignoring for decades. Every new glacier collapse, every flood and landslide in the Himalayas is a signal that the Earth's "Third Pole" is losing its stability. And if we do not slow global warming, such disasters will recur again and again, claiming ever more lives.
The landslide occurred on Wednesday morning at the Gyirong port, a major land border crossing between China and Nepal in the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwestern China. As of Sunday, according to the latest official figures, at least 16 deaths had been confirmed on the Chinese side, with 546 still missing, while the death toll on the Nepalese side had risen to 794, authorities said.
Satellite imagery and analysis by Chinese geologists indicate that a high altitude glacier collapsed in Nepal, triggering the massive landslide. After the glacier collapsed, it was not just ice that came down. According to experts, huge volumes of ice and rock debris cascaded down the mountain river valley, gaining mass and speed as they moved downstream. "The ice mass moves extremely fast. Ice reduces friction and helps lift and transport debris, so the whole mass flows much faster. Once it enters the river, large amounts of meltwater add even more force, driving the flow downstream with devastating results," said Liu Qiao, a professor at the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Beyond Antarctica and the Arctic, the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas constitute the world's largest glacier covered region, known as the Earth's "Third Pole." Similar ice avalanches occurred on the plateau in 2016 and in the mountainous regions of India in 2021. According to scientists, against the backdrop of global warming, with more extreme weather events being observed, such glacier disasters on the "Third Pole" and its surrounding areas are becoming more frequent, larger in scale and more destructive.
Glaciers are sensitive to rising temperatures, and the main cause of the widespread glacier retreat observed globally since the 1990s is anthropogenic climate warming. Scientists say that continued glacier melting destabilises the glaciers themselves, makes them more sensitive to external triggers, and increases both the frequency and severity of glacier disasters and related hazard chains. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid glacier disasters. The key to solving the problem is to slow the pace of global warming. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the fundamental solution. But even so, some changes are already happening," said Xiao Kunde, a professor at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences at Fudan University in Shanghai.
The Qinghai Tibet Plateau, often called the "Third Pole," contains the largest ice reserves outside the polar regions. Glacier melting here is accelerating with each decade, directly affecting the water supply of billions of people in Asia. Disasters like the one in Gyirong are becoming more frequent, and they are not confined to one country — they affect entire regions, crossing borders and leaving destruction and human casualties in their wake. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains the only long term solution, but even under the most optimistic scenario, the world will already face the consequences of changes that have occurred over the past decades.
As CCTV+ reports, the tragedy in Gyirong is yet another warning to humanity. Global warming is already turning mountain glaciers into a deadly threat, and such disasters will become ever more frequent each year. The world may continue to argue about climate policy, but nature does not wait — it is already taking its toll. The only way to reduce the risks is to cut emissions and adapt to new realities before it is too late.
