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Why This Matters for Central Asia
Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a growing threat to the high mountains of Central Asia: rising temperatures are accelerating glacier melt and leading to the formation of new, often unstable lakes dammed by moraine or ice. It is estimated that tens of thousands of people living in or below mountain valleys across the region are exposed to GLOF risk, and the rate of new lake formation continues to rise as glaciers retreat.
According to the latest data from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (August 2024), the country has 368 high-mountain lakes posing an outburst risk. Of these, 65 have been classified in the first and second hazard categories and are considered the most dangerous.
Early detection of a hazardous lake — before it grows large enough to fail — is one of the most effective ways to reduce this risk. It is this gap that THAW is designed to fill.
How THAW Works
The tool is specifically configured to detect seasonally anomalous water bodies — lakes that are atypical for a given time of year, meaning newly formed or unusually expanded. This approach allows a trained specialist to cover an entire glaciated basin in a single weekly review and quickly flag, among many lakes, exactly those that require attention.
How the Training Was Conducted
The training combined a theoretical introduction to the tool with hands-on practice. Participants ran THAW for their respective river basins to detect and analyze lakes that had formed or expanded as of August 2026, then cross-checked the identified potential lakes against Google Earth data or the latest available optical satellite imagery to assess whether they required further monitoring or immediate attention.
Organizers described the training not as a one-off event but as a starting point: the goal was for every participant to gain practical knowledge of installing and operating the THAW tool that they could apply independently going forward.
The training was organized by the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty and the University of Zurich as part of the regional project “Reducing Vulnerabilities of Populations in the Central Asia Region from Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in a Changing Climate,” with financial support from the Adaptation Fund. More information to the tool base can be found on the following link: https://github.com/mountainhydro/THAW
