LANDSLIDE AND ROCK FALL

Landslide And Rock Fall Events In High Mountains Caused By Climate Change



Landslide And Rock Fall Events In High Mountains Caused By Climate Change

Introduction

Climate change is a reality today, and some of the best evidence comes from mountain areas: over the last century, glaciers in the European Alps and the Caucasus Mountains have shrunk to half their size, while in Africa only 8 percent of Mount Kenya's largest glacier remains. If current trends continue, by the end of this century many of the world's mountain glaciers, including all those in Glacier National Park in the United States, will have vanished entirely. Millions if not billions of people depend directly or indirectly on these natural water storage facilities for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation during key parts of the year.

For example, in Peru, 10 million residents of Lima depend on freshwater from the Quelcaya Glacier. In Nepal, a glacial lake burst its banks in 1985, sending a 15 m wall of water rushing downhill, drowning people and destroying homes. Mountains are early indicators of climate change. Many climatologists believe that the changes occurring in mountain ecosystems provide an early glimpse of what may come to pass in lowland environments. For this reason, it is vital that the biological and physical components of mountains are strictly monitored and studied. Information on the health of mountain environments will undoubtedly assist governments and international organizations as they develop management strategies and mount strong campaigns to reverse current global warming trends.

Literature Review

The high altitude areas of the region above 5000 m a.s.l elevation are mostly barren land consisting of rock, snow, ice, and bare soil. Nearly 50% to 60% of the area consists of frigid snow covered mountains, glaciers, steep rock outcrops, river beds and other non-vegetated land surfaces. Due to the extreme relief and younger geology with high seismic activities, the Himalaya is considered as an extremely hazardous region. Earthquakes, landslides, rock falls, avalanches and flash floods are the common types of natural hazards in the mountains (Ives 2004). The Himalaya being the place of collision between the Indian and Tibetan plates, seismic activities often trigger these mass movements which are more devastating than the triggering factors.

Since most of the rainfall is concentrated within a few months of monsoon, heavy rainstorms also initiate these events. These processes are the balancing acts of nature and have been ongoing in the mountains for thousands of years. However, they are hazards when the lives and properties of the people are threatened by these processes. Due to limited lands suitable for inhabitation and farming in the mountains, the land resources are heavily exploited and people are forced to live in danger zones. Pressures due to increased population and tourism activities have made the people to settle in the areas which have high risks of these natural hazards. Trekking routes lead through exposed unsafe areas. Trails and bridges are situated directly in the floodway of river ...