Warming blamed for river blockage

A global warming-induced avalanche of ice and glacial debris is to blame for the recent blockage on the Yarlung Zangbo River in the Tibet autonomous region, the headwater of India's Brahmaputra River and the longest plateau river in China, an expert said.

Around 6,000 people who live in the area of the river blockage were evacuated after Oct 17, when a landslide barricaded the deep valley through which the river flows. The blockage created a 75-meter-deep barrier lake that held 550 million cubic meters of water at its peak, the local emergency response bureau said.

The landslide took place near Gyalha, a village in Manling county in the lower ranges of the river in Tibet, the bureau said. No casualties or injuries were reported, and China has provided hourly updates to India on the blockage.