Climate disasters are growing. So are cuts to programs that prepare for them

KATHMANDU, Nepal – In the aftermath of Nepal’s deadly recent floods, Tenzin Dolma Ghale sat on the floor of a makeshift shelter, her entire village and family washed away by the surge of water and debris. With only her clothes left, she broke down in tears, declaring, “It’s all finished.” Ghale is among millions grappling with the devastating consequences of climate-related disasters, which have intensified in recent years.

International climate adaptation and disaster preparedness aid programs have been significantly cut, leaving countries facing billions in avoidable damage and dwindling recovery funds.

Harjeet Singh, founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation based in New Delhi, lamented, “The reality is that we need trillions of dollars every year, but developed countries have not met their obligation.” Cuts to U.S. foreign aid in 2025 eliminated or severely reduced programs serving millions worldwide, exacerbating the funding crisis.

Among the programs lost was SERVIR-Hindu Kush Himalaya, a joint initiative between the U.S. Agency for International Development, NASA, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). SERVIR-HKH used satellites and geospatial analysis to reduce disaster risks, manage water resources, and monitor land cover.

Covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, SERVIR-HKH provided critical flood risk services, disaster risk reduction efforts, and collaboration on risk communication. It also maintained over 170 public data sets on glaciers, disasters, and vulnerability. Experts praised SERVIR-HKH for its extensive research, cross-border coordination, and support for local disaster reduction measures.

However, before its funding ended due to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) cuts, it had already demonstrated its impact in a region facing rapid glacier melt, shifting monsoons, and increasingly frequent floods, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

These climate-induced changes have endangered the food, water, and energy security of nearly 2 billion people living in or downstream of the Himalayan region. In fact, Himalayan glaciers are losing mass 65% faster than they were a decade ago, according to a report by global consultancy Systemiq, produced with ICIMOD. With only about 0.1% of the Himalaya’s estimated 40,000 glaciers currently monitored in detail and on a sustained basis, the loss of SERVIR-HKH’s monitoring programs leaves millions facing heightened risks of GLOFs.

In northern Pakistan, over 3,000 glacial lakes exist, with 30 identified as likely to cause such floods in areas inhabited by more than 7 million people.

Afghanistan also faces an increased threat of GLOFs, according to research from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. In India, over 130 high-altitude lakes are at risk of flooding. South Asia has already experienced deadly climate-related disasters, with the 2022 Pakistan floods killing over 1,700 people and causing an estimated $40 billion in damage.

In Nepal, a 2025 flood claimed nine lives and inflicted significant material damage. Climate-driven extreme weather in the region has resulted in economic losses of at least $7 billion in 2025 alone, according to the Economic Survey.