Climate change, global warming is affecting the glaciers around the globe amid the hottest decade ever recorded, as glacial flood caused by high temperature claimed a life of a girl in a remote area of Chitral on Friday.
This news came after homes had been evacuated in Courmayeur in Italy’s Aosta valley last week, after a renewed warning that a huge portion of a Mont Blanc glacier was at risk of collapse.
Similarly, the rupturing of Tourtemagne Glacier rupturing was filmed, which went viral on social media, in Valais, Switzerland. The incident took place around 2,650 meters above sea level, in an area that was covered with a thick layer of ice that has become thinner in recent years.
Meanwhile, the girl killed in Chitral was teenager Hafiza – a 9th Class student – after the glacial flood swept away 14 houses while also destroying standing crops.
The glacier exploded as abnormal increase in temperature around the region triggered the unusual melting.
Meanwhile, the road to Baroghil valley was also closed for traffic after glacial flood washed away a stretch of more than 500 meters in the village.
In a recent report, it is said that the period 2010-19 has been the hottest decade ever experienced globally with seven of the last ten years being the hottest ever recorded. Moreover, the years 2010-2019 were 0.2C warmer than 2000-2009.
The State of the Climate report, from the US government, says that the Earth's climate is continuing to change quickly and the consequences have been seen in events such as melting glaciers and wildfires.
Last year, mountain glaciers shrank across the globe for the 32nd year in a row and wildfires hit in Australia, the Amazon, Indonesia and Siberia.
In July, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) swept away several homes, mosques, irrigation and the water supply system as well as a powerhouse and destroyed standing crops in Golen Gol valley of Chitral district.
Moreover, the flash flood also left residents of over 500 homes stranded in the hills after the gushing water washed away four suspension bridges and three kilometres of the road linking the Golen with other areas.