Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are likely to become more unstable, which may lead to more collapses and collateral disasters, a senior climate official warns as the death toll from last week’s catastrophic landslide and flood on the China-Nepal border continues to rise.“Over the past 60 years, the glacier area on the Tibetan Plateau has shrunk by around 24 per cent, with around 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely,” Gao Rong, deputy director of China’s National Climate Centre, said on Wednesday.“Looking ahead, the structural stability of glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau will decline further. Glacial disasters are likely to become more frequent and could amplify in destruction and reach through cascading effects.”02:00Symbolic funeral held for Nepal flood victims as police collect DNA to help identify remainsAs of Wednesday, China had reported 21 people dead and 541 missing following a glacier collapsed at Langtang Lirung on the Nepalese side of the border on August 26. In Nepal, the death toll rose to 1,252 as of 10am Thursday, with about 4,875 people still missing.Beijing has stepped up cross-border support to its neighbour. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that China’s second batch of emergency supplies arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by five DNA identification experts. A third shipment and a second expert team were being prepared.After working for seven days, Beijing on Wednesday cleared the road to Gyirong Port, which was hit hardest on the Chinese side by the mudslide. Heavy machinery has reached the checkpoint area to aid a deeper search.A plush rabbit doll is spotted amid the vast, sombre ruins following the Nepal-China landslide and flood disaster. Photo: SohuThe mudslide created by the glacier collapse travelled 22km (13.7 miles) along the valley and reached the Gyirong Port border crossing in just seven minutes, according to an initial assessment last week.