Global Snow- and Ice-Related Disaster Risk: A Review

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the ongoing retreat of the global cryosphere has been affecting human societies and causing a series of snow- and ice-related disasters (SIRDs). Based on existing research results, this paper focuses on searching for the formation mechanism of SIRDs, classifies their types and spatiotemporal scales, and reveals the integrated impacts of the SIRD and its future situation on global high-hazard areas. On land, SIRDs mainly occur in the high mountainous areas of middle–low latitude and the permafrost regions of high latitude, in the behaviors of increasing frequency of glacier/snow/glacier lake outburst flood–related disasters and an expanding range of freeze–thaw disasters. The recorded frost events show a decreasing trend but the hail hazard distributions are greatly heterogenous. Overall, the frequency of rain-on-snow events is projected to increase on land in the future. In the ocean, SIRDs are mainly distributed in the Arctic coastal areas and global low-lying islands or areas, with great potential risk. Among them, coastal freeze–thaw, icebergs, and sea-level rise and its impacts are likely or expected to continue increasing in the next few decades.