As the planet warms, retreating glaciers contribute to the formation of unstable lakes, prone to hazardous outburst floods.
As the planet warms, retreating glaciers contribute to the formation of unstable lakes, prone to hazardous outburst floods. Today’s study provides a vital missing piece of evidence for a ground-breaking lawsuit seeking compensation from an energy company, RWE, for climate change impacts.
This new research establishes a ‘full set’ of links from human-made greenhouse-gas emissions to the substantial risk of a dangerous outburst flood from Lake Palcacocha, high in the Peruvian Andes. This flood threatens to inundate the city of Huaraz.
Rupert Stuart-Smith, lead author of the study says, ‘We found that human influence on climate – through greenhouse gas emissions – is responsible for virtually all of the warming that has been observed in the region.
Read more at: University of Oxford
Lake Palcacocha which threatens the city of Huaraz. (Photo Credit: Cooperación Suiza COSUDE)
