A dead glacier is a loss. A dying one is a threat

PremiumRaymond Zhong, Jason Gulley and Bora ErdenNew York Times·30 Aug, 2026 10:01 PM10 mins to readThe spillway, foreground, at Imja Lake in Nepal, an attempt to reduce flood hazard, in June 2025. Photo / Jason Gulley, The New York TimesThis story originally ran in December, 2025.Melting ice from the Himalayas is creating thousands of unstable lakes, a growing menace to towns and cities below.The ice of the Himalayas is wasting away. Glacier-draped slopes are going bare.

The ground atop the mountain range, which sprawls across five