Climate warming is accelerating the retreat of global glaciers, leading to the formation and expansion of glacial lakes, while bringing great opportu-nities and risks. More meltwater held in glacial lakes provides potential water sources and hydropower for downstream communities. Meanwhile, continued warming and glacier retreat are causing glacier-lake systems to become more unstable, with factors such as ice avalanches and landslid-es more likely to trigger catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), threatening lives and livelihoods downstream. Systematic investigation and prediction of past, current, and future glacial lake change and development using highly accurate data and models is an important step toward the assessment of the potential and risk of glacial lakes. Reliable assessment results will help decision makers to take more rational response   measures, increase capacity and resilience to cope with glacial lake-related disasters, and reduce losses and negative impacts.

The objective of this Special Issue is to collect and present the latest research advances in investigating the characteristics and trends of  glacial   lake evolution in different mountain regions around the world, as well as their potential opportunities and risks. We welcome multiple  forms  of  contributions, including original research papers, innovative methodologies, and state-of-the-art reviews.