00:00Glacier-related risks are becoming a global reality, says Celeste Saulo, head of the World Meteorological Organization.
00:07Speaking at the Glacier Preservation Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, she said that no matter how developed the country is, all are at risk.
00:15Saulo pointed to the recent disaster at the Swiss village of Blatton, where a glacier-triggered mud light wiped out nearly all livelihoods.
00:22One person remains missing, but early warning systems helped reduce the toll.
00:27As climate change accelerates, the WMO is calling for more investment in monitoring and forecasting, especially to protect mountain communities.
00:36This is the new reality. We need to raise awareness of the importance of hydromet services for every single country in every single region.
00:46And that's why we advocate for more investments in monitoring.
00:51With better monitoring, we can expect to have better forecasts.
00:55And with those, we can expect to have better early warning systems in the end to protect societies, to protect people and to protect livelihoods.
01:04Last week, the Swiss village of Blatton was buried under a massive avalanche of rock and ice from the Birch Glacier and the nearby Lonza River bed.
01:13Days before the disaster, experts warned about a possible collapse of the glacier, which held 1.5 million cubic meters of ice.
01:20In response, local authorities evacuated around 300 people and livestock.
01:25A few days after the slide, the Lonza River began flowing again through the debris.
01:30Let it's go.
01:31So let's go.
01:32As crime...
01:35kt
01:37Into a loss
01:50Drop
Comments