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🇨🇳 China /Environment & Climate

Unstable Tibetan Plateau glaciers could trigger cascading disasters as ice loss accelerates

From South China Morning Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A senior Chinese climate official warned that shrinking and destabilized glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau could cause more frequent and destructive cascading disasters.
  • China reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing after a glacier collapse on Nepal’s side, while Nepal’s death toll reached 1,114, with about 3,900 people still missing.
  • China sent emergency supplies and DNA identification experts to Nepal and cleared the road to the heavily damaged Gyirong Port for search operations.

The Tibetan Plateau’s glaciers are losing stability, and future collapses could unleash disasters that travel farther and cause greater destruction, China’s National Climate Centre has warned.

Gao Rong, the centre’s deputy director, said glacier coverage across the plateau had fallen by about 24 percent over the past 60 years. Around 7,000 small glaciers have disappeared completely, she said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “Looking ahead, the structural stability of glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau will decline further. Glacial disasters are likely to become more frequent and could amplify in destruction and reach through cascading effects.”

The warning came as casualties continued to mount after a glacier collapsed at Langtang Lirung on Nepal’s side of the border on August 26. China reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing as of Wednesday. Nepal’s death toll had risen to 1,114 by Wednesday afternoon, with roughly 3,900 people still missing.

Over the past 60 years, the glacier area on the Tibetan Plateau has shrunk by around 24 per cent, with around 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely.

· Gao RongChina’s National Climate Centre deputy director described the scale of glacier loss at a press briefing.

Beijing has increased support for Nepal’s search and identification efforts. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China’s second shipment of emergency supplies arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon with five DNA identification experts. A third shipment and another expert team were being prepared.

On the Chinese side, crews spent seven days clearing the road to Gyirong Port, the area hit hardest by the mudslide. Heavy machinery reached the checkpoint to support a deeper search. An initial assessment said the mudslide travelled 22 kilometres down the valley and reached the border crossing in only seven minutes.

Looking ahead, the structural stability of glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau will decline further. Glacial disasters are likely to become more frequent and could amplify in destruction and reach through cascading effects.

· Gao RongShe warned that continued glacier destabilization could produce more frequent and far-reaching disasters.
About this summary

Originally published by South China Morning Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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