Global warming: PMD warns of glacier melts

ISLAMABAD: Glacier melting and expected outbursts of Sanober and Bole glaciers in Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, can cause damage to lives and infrastructure, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Thursday. PMD Chief Meteorologist Dr Ghulam Rasul visited the glaciers last week to investigate the potential danger. Talking to APP, he said that a large crevice had developed above the lower end of the Sanober glacier that had produced a huge surge last summer, displacing large settlements. The people, however, had returned to their homes. Rasul said outbursts are very likely even without heavy rainfall as the transverse crevice will increase due to high temperatures in the summer. He added that although there is no immediate threat of glacier outbursts, the lower half of the glacier is melting at a higher rate than the upper one, which can cause lakes to form beneath the ice.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd,  2011.