00:00Dr. Matthew Peasey is a researcher in Himalayan field glaciology from the University of Eberwistwyth in Wales.
00:07Dr. Great to have you on the show. So first of all, can you help us understand how this happened?
00:13So a glacier collapse is where you have a part of a glacier fall away and it might take some
00:18sediment or bedrock with it
00:19and then it forms what we call a complex hazard. So as it falls down the mountainside, it might pick
00:24up more material,
00:25it might pick up water and then the friction within that landslide can then melt the ice, can melt some
00:31of the frozen soil
00:32and that makes it hypermobile, leading to these very rapid styles of hazards that can move down valley very, very
00:38quickly.
00:38And Dr. The Extreme Vertical Relief is the main reason for the disaster and given the unstable slopes and the
00:45newly formed Barrier Lake,
00:47do you think that will lead to some secondary disasters?
00:51Dr. I think there's definitely a possibility for a secondary disaster. It needs to be monitored very carefully from on
00:56the ground
00:57but also from satellite products as they're very dynamic systems and they're constantly evolving in terms of hours, minutes, days.
01:05And to what extent could climate change be linked to disasters of this kind?
01:11Dr. I think it's clear that climate change definitely has a massive impact in our high altitude regions globally.
01:16We're seeing reduction in glacier mass, we're seeing melting of the permafrost, destabilizing cliffs.
01:23So there's definitely an impact from climate change in potentially increasing the magnitude and frequency of some of these disasters.
01:30And what do you think we should watch out for in the next 24 or 48 hours, do you think?
01:36Dr. So in the next 24 or 48 hours, I can't particularly say what particularly to look for,
01:41but I think monitoring is key from both satellite products and on-the-ground monitoring works done by the rescue
01:46services
01:47and international bodies like ISIMOD are key in kind of seeing how this is going to pan out and learning
01:52from it.
01:52And doctor, when you look at the live picture, actually, they were extraordinary and a lot of people just wiped
01:58out all of a sudden.
01:59So can disasters like these be predicted and what warning signs should scientists and authorities be monitoring in high-altitude
02:07glacier regions?
02:09So these disasters are very rapid in nature and when looking at them,
02:13you need to consider them in terms of a landform that's susceptible to a disaster,
02:17so a glacier that may be melting or some destabilized rock, and then a trigger mechanism,
02:21so something that causes that system to collapse or fail.
02:24In terms of what we should be looking for, I think we need to be considering climate change within these
02:29mountainous environments
02:30and looking at an individual scale of particular glaciers or mountains that may be seeing change,
02:36as well as looking at wider climate forecasting and regional analysis.
02:39And Dr. Nepal is prone to disasters like this.
02:42It is not the first time that has happened in a country.
02:45And what do you think authorities should do to prevent disasters like this from happening in the future?
02:52I think prevention is quite a difficult thing to do.
02:55I think the best we can do, and Nepal and other countries in the Hindu Kush Himalaya do very well,
03:00is monitoring of these systems and looking to better understand them.
03:04And by understanding the processes of what's occurring, we can then learn from these disasters
03:08and look to move forward as to where we can potentially seek to mitigate them in the future.
03:13Thank you so much for our insights.
03:14That is Dr. Matthew Peasey from the University of Everestworth in Wales.
