The glacial collapse that caused deadly floods on the Nepal-China border late last month is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by Bhutan, which has over 600 glaciers nestled in the mountain ranges across its north.
As climate change melts these ancient ice rivers, they can form glacial lakes held back by fragile debris walls. When these collapse, the lakes burst and flood communities downstream.
In 1994, a so-called glacial lake outburst flood killed 21 people along Bhutan’s Punatsangchhu river, also known as the Sankosh. The risk has increased exponentially since then.
AFP journalist Sara Hussein spoke to locals and visited a local warning centre, which oversees a network of sensors that detect changes in water levels at glacial lakes and downstream rivers, and sirens that warn communities to evacuate.
