Rising flood frequency in High Mountain Asia (HMA) since 2000 due to climate change: Study | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Rising flood frequency in High Mountain Asia (HMA) since 2000 due to climate change: Study

Posted 03 Mar 2025

2 min read

Study analyzed flood events in HMA from 1950 to 2023 and confirms that temperature rise is the key driver of increased flooding

  • Since 1950, HMA has been warming at 0.3°C per decade.

Other Key observations

  • Rising unpredictability in floods timing, while most events continue to occur during monsoon, there is increase in floods happening outside these times.
  • Planetary heating from burning of oil, coal, and gas is driving the rise in all four types of floods seen in Asian region.

Four Types of Floods in HMA

  • Rain/Pluvial Floods (PF): Triggered by extreme rainfall, leading to surface runoff and flash floods, common in Himalayas.
  • Snowmelt-induced floods (SF): Rising temperatures accelerate snowmelt, increasing river discharge, most frequent in Tien Shan.
  • Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs): Caused by glacial lakes breaching due to melting glaciers or landslides, common in Karakoram and Himalayas.
  • Landslide-Dammed Lake Outburst Floods (LLOFs): Occur when landslides block rivers, forming temporary lakes that later breach, mostly in Hengduan Mountains.

Recommendations

  • Prioritise real-time flood monitoring in vulnerable valleys.
  • Strengthen data-sharing agreements between HMA nations to address transboundary threats
  • Promoting community-based flood mitigation efforts including locally-led construction of protective infrastructure etc.

About High Mountain Asia

  • HMA, also called the ‘Asian Water Tower’, is an important source of freshwater since it holds largest reservoir of frozen water outside the polar regions 
  • It feeds 10 major rivers and supporting more than 2 billion people.
  • It consists of Tibetan Plateau, surrounded by mountain ranges of Tien Shan, Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram in west, Himalayas in south and southeast, and Qilian Shan in east.
  • Tags :
  • High Mountain Asia
  • Pluvial Floods
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