Failing to Heed the Glacial Warning Signs The recent tragedy in Nepal, where over 1,100 people lost their lives due to a devastating landslide and flash floods along the Nepal China border, raises disturbing questions about the lack of operational early warning systems for glacier related hazards.
Visible signs of instability were evident days before the disaster, including meltwater turning brown and a crack propagating into surrounding bedrock slope.
Detecting such changes in remote, high altitude environments is challenging, but better monitoring systems could have saved a significant number of lives.