Climate change is driving a sharp rise in landslides across Alaska, as warming temperatures and heavier rainfall destabilise slopes that were once considered stable.
A University of Alaska Fairbanks study tracking landslide activity over more than a century finds events were rare before the 1980s – but have accelerated rapidly in recent decades in line with rising air temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.
The paper shows average temperatures have increased markedly while rainfall has become more intense and erratic creating ideal conditions for slope failure.
Permafrost thaw is weakening ground structure freeze–thaw cycles are becoming more frequent and short intense downpours are saturating soils faster than they can drain.
The authors say the Alaskan study was worldwide implications, with a surge in landslides closely matching long term climate trends, suggesting climate change is the primary driver rather than improved reporting.
In high latitude and mountainous regions thawing permafrost is identified as a critical tipping point turning once solid frozen ground into unstable material prone to collapse.
Heavy rainfall events including atmospheric river systems are then acting as immediate triggers pushing weakened slopes past failure thresholds.
The study finds the consequences are already visible with landslides becoming more frequent more widespread and more damaging particularly in regions previously considered low risk.
Lead author Margaret M. Darrow wrote: “We correlate the increase in landslides to a rise in average annual air temperature and an increase in precipitation.”
The studay concludes that landslides are no longer isolated geological hazards but a growing climate risk that will intensify as warming continues – and that landslides should now be treated alongside floods heatwaves and droughts as a core climate impact, with serious implications for infrastructure safety community resilience and long term planning.
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