EBS video warning of Nepal glacial flood 12 years ago tops 3 million views in a day

[Financial News] An EBS documentary that warned of a glacial flood 12 years ago is drawing renewed attention after a major flood hit Nepal's Himalayan mountain region. The video surpassed 2.5 million views just one day after it was reposted on YouTube.
On the 27th, Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) uploaded a video to its YouTube channel titled, "I Went Straight to the Himalayas at 5,000 Meters Above Sea Level... Was an Explosion Only a Matter of Time?" It was a repost of a documentary that originally aired in August 2014. As of 10 p.m. on the 28th, the video had surpassed 3 million views.
In the video, experts warned that climate change could lead to a glacial flood tsunami. They explained that as global warming melts glaciers in the Himalayas, nearby lakes expand, and if a large-scale flood occurs, it could sweep through surrounding villages like a tsunami.
At the time, the production team visited Imja Lake, located at an altitude of about 5,000 meters near Mount Everest, to highlight the risk of a glacial flood. Due to continued glacier melt, the lake, which had been little more than a small pond 50 years earlier, had grown into a large lake measuring 2.3 kilometers in length, 580 meters in width, and 100 meters in depth. However, this area is different from the site of the recent major flood.
Narendra Khanal, a professor in the geology department at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, warned, "If Imja Lake bursts, the number of victims will exceed 1 million, including not only Nepalese residents but also foreign tourists." A local resident also expressed concern, saying, "I see glaciers melting and avalanches every day."
Experts also pointed to the responsibility of advanced countries, including South Korea, in the climate change problem that lies behind glacial floods. They explained that Nepal, which emits relatively little greenhouse gas, is bearing the damage caused by emissions from developed countries. In the video, one expert said, "To be honest, Nepal is suffering because of developed countries."

However, some analysts say the glacial flood covered in the video and the cause of the recent major flood in Nepal are not exactly the same. The latest disaster is believed to have occurred when the lower end of a glacier broke off at an altitude of about 5,200 meters on the Nepal side and plunged about 1,200 meters down to the valley floor. The mass of ice then swept up surrounding rocks and soil, blocked the river, and triggered a compound disaster in which the swollen water burst through the embankment all at once. Still, interest in the video continues as glacier instability caused by global warming is seen as a common underlying factor.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter