‘No doubt’ of climate change role in deadly China-Nepal flood: scientists
Climate change was a core factor in last month’s deadly glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border that killed more than 1,400 people and left at least 6,600 missing, scientists said Thursday. However, scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said, the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, rather a […]
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group have concluded that climate change played a significant role in the deadly glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border in late August 2026, which resulted in over 1,400 deaths and left at least 6,600 people missing. The disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event but rather a "compound crisis" driven by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw, and geological instability.
The WWA report states that relentless warming has raised the freezing threshold on the high Himalaya, exposing ice and permafrost deep in the bedrock to higher and longer thaw temperatures, weakening mountain slopes. A massive section of rock and glacier broke away from Langtang Lirung mountain on August 26, triggering a huge flood of water, ice, and debris that swept downstream, destroying communities and infrastructure.
Brief written by urgent.news from Hong Kong Free Press's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
