Himalayan villages at risk from melting glaciers

Himalayan glaciers are predicted to lose up to 75 per cent of their ice by the end of the century due to global warming, and their melting poses serious risks, particularly from glacial lakes formed by the melting of the ice. These lakes, when they overflow or become unstable, can cause devastating floods, severely affecting villages and infrastructure downstream.

In order to mitigate the potential consequences, the UN has supported the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) project, which includes the installation of weather stations and sensors to monitor rainfall, water levels and run-off. In addition, early warning and slope setention systems have also been installed to alert and protect downstream communities from floods and landslides.

This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 21 November, shows the town of Passu in Pakistan, which is being monitored by the GLOF project.

The open data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites allow to monitor the glaciers around the world with unprecedented detail and frequency