Swiss Birch glacier collapse gives Asia a chilling warning
The collapse of the
Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts say.
Footage of Wednesday's collapse showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside, into the hamlet of Blatten.
Ali Neumann, disaster risk reduction adviser to the Swiss Development Cooperation, noted that while the role of climate change in the specific case of Blatten 'still needs to be investigated', the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere – the part of the world covered by frozen water.
'Climate change and its impact on the cryosphere will have growing repercussions on human societies that live near glaciers, near the cryosphere, and depend on glaciers somehow and live with them,' he said.
The barrage largely destroyed Blatten, but the evacuation of its 300 residents last week averted mass casualties, although one person remains missing.
A view of the Kleines Nesthorn mountain on Thursday showing the trace of the rocks which broke off and slid towards the valley above the village of Blatten. Photo: AP
'It also showed that with the right skills and observation and management of an emergency, you can significantly reduce the magnitude of this type of disaster,' Neumann said at an international UN-backed glacier conference in Tajikistan.
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