The Cachet lake partially dried, in Aysen, southern Chile, 07 Apr 2008 (photo released by Centro de Estudios Cientificos)

A glacial lake in southern Chile suddenly disappeared this week in a phenomenon that scientists are attributing to global warming.

Scientists say higher than normal temperatures caused the Colonia glacier to melt into nearby Cachet Lake.

The melting ice filled the lake and put tremendous pressure on it, causing the water to eventually burrow a tunnel through the glacier.

On April 6, the tunnel, which extended at least five kilometers, reached nearby Baker River and emptied the lake waters into it.

Glacier scientist Gino Casassa said global warming is responsible for the unusually warm weather that caused the glacial melting.

Some information for this report was provided by.