China: Glacier collapse disaster on China-Nepal border highlights growing climate risks: expert.

Shotlist FILE: Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown 1. Aerial shots of snow-capped mountains, glaciers Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Recent 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yao Tandong, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ending with shots 3-4): "Climate change has an amplification effect in extremely high-altitude areas, especially those above 5,000 meters, meaning the magnitude of temperature rise increases with elevation. Currently, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is warming at twice the global average rate. At altitudes above 5,000 meters, there are already findings that suggest the rate can reach three times of the average. This rapid warming accelerates glacial melting, causing meltwater to seep through surface crevasses down to the glacier's base. If the glacier rests on a bed of loose material, the structure may collapse, and if it rests on bedrock, it may slide. Either scenario can trigger an ice avalanche." FILE: Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown 3. Aerial shots of snow-capped mountains, glaciers 4. Various of glacial lake Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Recent 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yao Tandong, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences (partially overlaid with shot 6, ending with shot 7): "The defining characteristic of maritime glaciers is that they have both high accumulation and high ablation. As a result, the disaster-causing consequences of maritime glaciers are more severe than those of continental glaciers, and their frequency and intensity are also greater. Another factor is that maritime glacier regions are generally at very high altitudes, so the magnitude of temperature increase at these high elevations is also larger, and the warming process is more pronounced." SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE FILE: Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown 6. Glacier SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE 7. Aerial shots of snow-capped mountains Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Recent 8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yao Tandong, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ending with shot 9): "The collapse of maritime glaciers have become normal. As global warming proceeds, the frequency of glacier collapses is already on the rise." FILE: Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown 9. Aerial shots of snow-capped mountains 10. Various of scientific expedition team conducting researches Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Recent 11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yao Tandong, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences (starting with shot 10, ending with shot 12): "At the United Nations level, the first is to survey and monitor, followed by model building to assess risks in various spheres, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, as well as the biosphere and the anthroposphere. And then, we need to figure out how to address these risks." FILE: Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown 12. Aerial shot of snow-capped mountains Storyline A fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, struck both Nepal's border areas and the Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on August 26, leaving tens of thousands of people dead and even more people missing as rescue operations continue. The deadly disaster has prompted scientists to investigate the causes and issue warnings about a warming Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Since the disaster, the second Qinghai-Xizang Plateau scientific expedition team and the Department of Science and Technology of Xizang have carried out joint research to figure out the reason for the glacier collapse. Yao Tandong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the scientific expedition mission, noted the plateau's greater sensitivity to climate change, which leads to quick glacier melting and increasingly frequent ice avalanches in the area. "Climate change has an amplification effect in extremely high-altitude areas, especially those above 5,000 meters, meaning the magnitude of temperature rise increases with elevation. Currently, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is warming at twice the global average rate. At altitudes above 5,000 meters, there are already findings that suggest the rate can reach three times of the average. This rapid warming accelerates glacial melting, causing meltwater to seep through surface crevasses down to the glacier's base. If the glacier rests on a bed of loose material, the structure may collapse, and if it rests on bedrock, it may slide. Either scenario can trigger an ice avalanche," Yao said. The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding areas constitute the largest glacier distribution region outside the polar regions. This water tower has nearly 110,000 glaciers, covering an area of about 98,000 square kilometers, with a total ice volume of 10,100 cubic kilometers, according to the latest data released by the second Qinghai-Xiz