What Next? A New Danger Arises. An ‘inland tsunami’: 15 million people are at risk from catastrophic glacial lake outbursts, researchers find. Glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate, and are leaving massive pools of water in their wake leaving a ‘glacial lake.’

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN Published 11:00 AM EST, Tue February 7, 2023

Glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate, and are leaving massive pools of water in their wake. The meltwater fills the depression left behind by the glacier, forming what’s known as a glacial lake.

As temperatures get warmer and more pieces of the glacier melt away, the lake rises — and living downstream from one could be incredibly dangerous. If the lake rises too high or the surrounding land or ice gives way, the lake could burst, sending water and debris rushing down mountains.

This phenomenon is called a glacial lake outburst, and according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, the roughly 15 million people around the globe that live within 30 miles of a glacial lake are at risk. More than half of them are concentrated in just four countries — India, Pakistan, Peru and China.

It’s the first study that looks specifically at the potential impact of glacial lake outbursts, which experts say cannot be overstated.

Tom Robinson, a co-author of the study and a senior lecturer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said a glacial lake outburst is like an “inland tsunami.” He compared its impact to a sudden dam collapse.

“These glacial dams are no different to constructed dams,” Robinson told CNN. “If you take the Hoover Dam, for instance, you’ve got a massive lake behind it, but if you suddenly remove the Hoover Dam, that water has to go somewhere, and it’s going to come cascading down a valley in massive flood waves.”

These floods happen with little to no warning. Previous glacial lake outbursts have killed thousands of people and destroyed property and critical infrastructure. The Cordillera Blanca in Peru is one hot spot for this dangerous phenomenon. Since 1941, the mountain range has experienced more than 30 glacier disasters from avalanches to glacial lake outbursts that have claimed more than 15,000 lives, researchers found.

While it’s not yet clear how much of Pakistan’s flooding last year was linked to glacial melt, the country is home to more glaciers than anywhere in the world outside the polar regions. In 2022 alone, there were at least 16 glacial lake outburst incidents in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region – significantly more than the five or six events seen in previous years, scientists said.

The study found the region most exposed to these outbursts is High-Mountains Asia, which includes Nepal, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. On average, every person in this region lives within roughly six miles of a glacial lake, scientists noted.

But Robinson said the Andes region, including Peru and Bolivia, was one of the most concerning, considering how little research has been done in the area. The study noted that over the past two decades, glaciers in the Andes have melted rapidly as a result of the climate crisis, creating huge glacial lakes in their wake and increasing the threat of outburst flooding.

Robinson noted that North America and the European Alps don’t stand out as highly vulnerable, because fewer people live in the vicinities of glacial catchments. Even if the hazards are quite high in these regions, he said, the lack of exposed populations gives them a “low danger score.”

David Rounce, a glaciologist at Carnegie Mellon University who was not involved in the study, said Tuesday’s study is “powerful” in looking at the global comparison, and noted it would be interesting to see how the risk from glacial lake outbursts, as well as emergency management strategies, change over time.

“This is a really nice first pass to understand where we have invested a lot of our time and our research efforts and where we can improve,” Rounce told CNN, adding that the method the authors used could be applied to future projections “to understand where that exposure might change in the future, or where that hazard might change.”

Melting glaciers are one of the clearest, most visible signs of the climate crisis. A recent study, of which Rounce was the lead author, found that up to half of the planet’s glaciers could be lost by the end of the century, even if the world’s ambitious global climate targets, including phasing out fossil fuels, are met.

As temperatures continue to warm, Robinson said he hopes their research could help global leaders determine which countries are most in need of early warning systems for extreme flooding caused by glacial melt.

“We, as a global community, only have limited resources — and some of us have access to more resources than others,” he said. “We want to be making sure those resources are put to good use in the areas where impacts could potentially be quite severe.”

Robinson added that once there is investment in the most vulnerable countries like India, Pakistan, Peru and China, “we can work our way down that list and keep working down,” to save even more lives from these bursting glacial lakes.

Revelation 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19 And the great city (NEOM Babylon) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Acts 2:17-21 ‘And it shall ‘7’  come to pass in ‘the last days’, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. …

Daniel 1:17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall come to pass in ‘the last days’, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

But how can they call on him (Jesus Christ) to save them unless they believe in him (Jesus Christ)? And how can they believe in him (Jesus Christ) if they have never heard about him (Jesus Christ)? And how can they hear about him (Jesus Christ) unless someone tells them?” —Romans 10:14

In His Service,

Night Watchman

Paul Rolland

Night Watchman Ministries

Make Your Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:

 Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.