TY - JOUR
T1 - Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally
AU - Taylor, Caroline
AU - Robinson, Tom R.
AU - Dunning, Stuart
AU - Carr, J. Rachel
AU - Westoby, Matthew
N1 - Funding information: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)- funded ONE Planet Doctoral Training Partnership [NE/S007512/1]. We thank Professor Andy Large and Dr Jon Telling for their critical reading and suggestions for the manuscript.
PY - 2023/2/7
Y1 - 2023/2/7
N2 - Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) represent a major hazard and can result in significant loss of life. Globally, since 1990, the number and size of glacial lakes has grown rapidly along with downstream population, while socio-economic vulnerability has decreased. Nevertheless, contemporary exposure and vulnerability to GLOFs at the global scale has never been quantified. Here we show that 15 million people globally are exposed to impacts from potential GLOFs. Populations in High Mountains Asia (HMA) are the most exposed and on average live closest to glacial lakes with ~1 million people living within 10 km of a glacial lake. More than half of the globally exposed population are found in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. While HMA has the highest potential for GLOF impacts, we highlight the Andes as a region of concern, with similar potential for GLOF impacts to HMA but comparatively few published research studies.
AB - Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) represent a major hazard and can result in significant loss of life. Globally, since 1990, the number and size of glacial lakes has grown rapidly along with downstream population, while socio-economic vulnerability has decreased. Nevertheless, contemporary exposure and vulnerability to GLOFs at the global scale has never been quantified. Here we show that 15 million people globally are exposed to impacts from potential GLOFs. Populations in High Mountains Asia (HMA) are the most exposed and on average live closest to glacial lakes with ~1 million people living within 10 km of a glacial lake. More than half of the globally exposed population are found in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. While HMA has the highest potential for GLOF impacts, we highlight the Andes as a region of concern, with similar potential for GLOF impacts to HMA but comparatively few published research studies.
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-023-36033-x
DO - 10.1038/s41467-023-36033-x
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 14
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 487
ER -