Glacier outburst floods are sudden releases of large amounts ofwater froma glacier. They are a pervasive natural hazardworldwide. They have an associationwith climate primarily via glaciermass balance and their impacts on society partly depend on population pressure and land use. Given the ongoing changes in climate and land use and population distributions there is therefore […]

On July 8, 1998, the deadliest glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Central Asia for at least the last 100 years occurred in the Shakhimardan catchment, Kyrgyzstan. Most of the >100 victims were, however, killed in the Uzbek enclave of Shakhimardan, i.e. in the downstream part of this transboundary catchment. No warnings were issued between […]

Glacier retreat is considered to be one of the most obvious manifestations of recent and ongoing climate change in the majority of glacierized alpine and high-latitude regions throughout the world. Glacier retreat itself is both directly and indirectly connected to the various interrelated geomorphological/hydrological processes and changes in hydrological regimes. Various types of slope movements […]

The areas of glacial lakes in the Himalayas continue to increase alarmingly due to global warming with con- sequent risk of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF). The outburst is most common for moraine-dammed lakes as a result of a failure of the dam by overtopping and erosion or piping due to seepage. In the present […]

New Zoi-CAREC publications on climate change explain the latest scientific studies of climate impacts on selected rivers of Central Asia, climate adaptation actions by farmers and green technologies that could be used more broadly across the region. Water flow in the rivers of Central Asia is defined by a multitude of factors: climate, terrain and soil […]

Hazards relating to glaciers and permafrost occur in many mountain regions of the world and are a threat to lives, livelihoods, and sustainable development within some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. In view of rapid global warming and related changes in the sensitive mountain cryosphere, landscapes are evolving and new threats are emerging. Coupled […]

Climate change and human activities have resulted in the receding of glaciers throughout the world including Pakistan. Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are amongst the most common climate-change-induced hazards in northern Pakistan. In the present study, GLOF mapping and modelling was carried out using remote sensing and geographical information system tech- niques coupled with ground-truthing. […]

This paper is dedicated to the morphological analysis of the spatio-temporal features of snow deposit in Eurasian mountain land that includes: Jungar Alatau, Tien Shan, Pamir, Karakorum, Hindu Kush, Himalaya and Kun-Lun. Data were provided by the Snow Water Equivalent Anomaly (SWEA) USGS FEWS NET product for April 30, 2001–2019. The descriptor of patterns of […]

Rising air temperatures have created favorable conditions for dry farming at altitudes of 1900–2100 m (~6 km²) while increasing glacial mudflow risks. Field studies in 2011–2012 in the Tashkent region examined two glaciers: Tekeshsay-1 (minimal moraine cover) and Barkrak-Middle (extensive moraine cover). Two moraine-dammed lakes (1788 m² and 878 m²) formed near the retreating Barkrak-Middle glacier, posing mudflow hazards under high temperatures and heavy rain. The Tekeshsay-1 glacier is considered nonhazardous. Moraine material quantity is identified as the key factor in mudflow formation.

This study presents the first comprehensive inventory of mountain and glacial lakes in Uzbekistan, conducted using high-resolution satellite imagery (2002–2014) and supplemented by field data from the past 50 years. The analysis identified 242 lakes above 1500 m, categorized by outburst hazard. Results show that 15% of lakes are highly dangerous, while 10% have low outburst potential, with the rest having average risk levels. The ongoing rise in air temperatures has increased the number and area of glacial lakes, as well as the frequency of outburst events. These findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring and hazard assessment.

On July 8, 1998, a catastrophic glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) occurred in the Shakhimardan catchment, Kyrgyzstan, causing over 100 fatalities, mostly in Uzbekistan. Political tensions delayed disaster assessment. Using remote sensing, researchers found that the lake responsible for the flood formed in the 1960s, drained periodically, and disappeared in the 1980s. By 1998, a new lake had formed, driven by rising temperatures and snowmelt. The GLOF traveled 17 km as a debris flow and 20 km as a debris flood, eventually continuing downstream for ~100 km. Currently, 32 lakes in the catchment, some unstable, highlight the urgent need for monitoring, early warning systems, and improved data exchange between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Developing a comprehensive General Scheme for protecting settlements in Kazakhstan from debris flows is a priority task. This includes creating regulatory documents for the design, construction, and operation of protective structures and preventive measures against rainfall, glacial, and seismic debris flows.