What is changing—and why it matters.

This Week in the Frozen World

The Himalayan disaster, Alpine heat and a new glacier-extinction tool point to the same priority: monitoring must connect to infrastructure, public safety and decisions.

Himalayan glacier crisis

The Nepal–Tibet disaster connects glacier and slope instability with flood exposure, hydropower, roads, cross-border trade and the unequal cost of climate impacts.

• Recovery request reported at US$5 billion
• Infrastructure and hydropower losses under assessment
• Early-warning coverage is now a central policy question

Mer de Glace under exceptional heat

France’s best-known glacier is shrinking while thawing mountain ground increases rockfall risk around established climbing and visitor routes.

Sikkim identifies 40 high-risk glacial lakes

Sixteen lakes were placed in the highest category as authorities develop drainage, retention and early-warning measures.

Event is not the same as trend

A collapse can happen suddenly. Glacier retreat, lake growth and thawing permafrost develop over longer periods. Our records keep the event and the underlying trend separate.