Glaciologist urges monitoring as mountain collapse events intensify

Glaciologist Andrea Fischer is calling for closer monitoring of glacier areas after the serious flash flood in Nepal, ORF reported. She said climate warming is increasing the frequency of such events, which could also occur on a smaller scale in the Alps.

“Without detailed monitoring on site, it is impossible to predict such events precisely,” said Fischer, a glaciologist at the University of Innsbruck. In Nepal, the enormous areas that need to be monitored and the extreme differences in elevation make this particularly difficult.

Events becoming more frequent and intense

As temperatures rise, the ice melts and exposes new areas to the heat. Permafrost then thaws, while cold glaciers that were previously frozen into the ground can warm at their base and begin to slide, Fischer said. These processes are increasing both the intensity and frequency of collapse events, she added.

Glaciers in Austria are losing between 50 and 100 square kilometres of area each year. Fischer said effective monitoring was needed to help prevent similar events on a smaller scale and to enable timely warnings and evacuations.

Austria is already well equipped to deal with natural hazards, she said, pointing to avalanche warning services as a successful model. The country now needs to apply that expertise to new processes associated with climate change in order to warn and evacuate people in time.