Landslides aren’t always fast-moving disasters. Slow landslides creep downhill at rates up to a few meters a year, which might not sound dramatic, but slow slides can still damage roads, pipelines and communities. Slow-moving slides are most commonly triggered by increased pore pressure in the soils due to rainfall or snowmelt, but in some places, according to a new study, temperature may also play a role. The new study looking at slow slides in Japan found that cold underground temperatures — independent of increased rainfall — may lubricate slow-moving slides.