Continued deglaciation in the Bolivian Andes threatens regional water security and may result in increased exposure to geohazards. We analyse high spatial resolution (∼3–5 m) satellite imagery to constrain annual glacier and glacial lake evolution across the Bolivian Andes between 2016 and 2022. The total glaciated area of the region decreased by 9.1%, from 316.6 ± 3.2 km2 to 287.8 ± 2.9 km2; a rate of loss of 4.8 km2 a−1. Concurrently, the number (total surface area) of glacial lakes increased by 2.6% (1.9%), from 704 (37.1 ± 0.7 km2) to 770 (37.8 ± 0.8 km2). A comprehensive glacial lake outburst flood susceptibility analysis was undertaken for the 2022 lake inventory, with eleven lakes identified as ‘high susceptibility’. Subglacial topographic analysis was undertaken to predict potential future sites for lake formation. We identified 55 such sites given continued deglaciation. The model was tested by applying it to areas where glaciers retreated between 2000 and 2022. Of the 22 potentially susceptible lakes which formed during this period, 14 (64%) did so in overdeepenings identified by the model. This is the first time that an inventory of potential future lake sites has been produced for the region.

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway, China's second inland railway to Tibet, is currently being constructed and will run between Chengdu and Lhasa. It will cross the southeastern Tibetan Plateau and be surrounded by glacial lakes, some of which may pose a threat of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) events. Both the specific location and the outburst susceptibility of these glacial lakes are largely unknown. In this study, we mapped the glacial lakes using declassified Corona KH-4 and Hexagon KH-9 from the 1960s and Sentinel-2 imagery from 2020 and assessed their spatio-temporal changes. GLOF-susceptibility criteria were established based on historical GLOF events. The results show that the total area (number) of glacial lakes has increased by 22% (20%) from 126.1 ± 2.4 km2 (1662 lakes) in the 1960s to 153.6 ± 11.1 km2 (1994 lakes) in 2020. Of these lakes, this study identified 38 very high and 85 high GLOF-susceptibility lakes; mainly distributed along the Bomi-Nyingchi railway section in the Parlung Zangbo River basin. Four of the very high GLOF-susceptibility glacial lakes may pose a threat to the railway and will require monitoring. The insights from this study can be used to mitigate the risk of GLOFs during the construction and maintenance of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway.