A catastrophic tsunami could hit Alaska anytime because the climate crisis is causing the rapid shrinking of a huge glacier, scientists have warned.

The New York Times reports that the glacier in question helps support a mile-long slope along the flank of a fjord-but if it continues to get smaller then it could lead to a sudden, massive collapse into the water.

The researchers say that such a landslide was possible within a year and likely within two decades.

"It could happen anytime, but the risk just goes way up as this glacier recedes," said Anna Liljedahl, an Alaska-based hydrologist with the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts.

Computer modeling showed that a collapse of the entire slope could cause a tsunami several hundred feet high.

Liljedahl said the findings are yet to be peer reviewed, but she added: "We realized we needed to let people know."