Vulnerabilities

Glacier retreat because of climate change often leads to the growth of lakes at the downstream end of glaciers. Glacier retreat also increases the risk of mass movements – rock falls and avalanches – when valley walls become unstable because of the retreat of the glacier. These mass movements, when entering the lake, can triggered so-called glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). These events are an emerging hazard in Iceland (1).

References

The references below are cited in full in a separate map 'References'. Please click here if you are looking for the full references for Iceland.

1. Wells et al. (2025)