Technology and Science25 September, 20262 min read
Balendra Shah Tells UN Warning To World After August Glacier Collapse Kills 1,453 In Nepal
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Balendra Shah says glacier-collapse floods were a warning to the world at the UN. More than 1,400 killed and thousands missing in August floods.
UN Warning and the Flood
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that the August disaster “was a warning to the world” and asked delegates, “Have you really heard that warning?” Shah said the August 26 catastrophe killed at least 1,453 people and left 5,500 people still missing, after a torrent of mud, rock and water struck northern Nepal and the China-Tibet border triggered by a glacial collapse. Researchers from the World Weather Attribution group said the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, but rather a “compound crisis” shaped by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability.
Shah argued that Nepal is “paying a colossal price” for climate change while contributing less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the heat-trapping gases behind climate change. Shah also described the disaster as “not just a local tragedy” and urged political leaders to translate warnings into action at the speed and scale required for vulnerable people.
Science, Mechanisms, and Change
A massive mass of rock and glacier ice, about 600 meters wide, detached at an altitude of approximately 5,200 meters on the northern slope of Langtang Lirung near the Nepal-China border, early scientific analyses found. The collapse released energy comparable to that of a 5.2 magnitude earthquake and the avalanche traveled about 20 kilometers and descended 1,700 meters to the Rasuwagadhi area in just seven minutes. The chain reaction unfolded as the mountain came down, the ice melting almost instantly due to friction and the pressure of the collapse, and a river temporarily blocked then bursting into a tongue of water, mud, and stones.
The World Weather Attribution report, prepared by more than 20 international experts, pointed to climate change as a determining factor in shaping the catastrophe. Climatologist Friederike Otto said, “There is no doubt that human-caused climate change played a fundamental role in the formation of the disaster.”
Resilience Pact and Funding
Shah proposed creating a ‘Himalaya Climate Resilience Mechanism’ that would include Nepal and neighbours India and China, and would allow them to share satellite data and expertise, monitor glacial lakes and strengthen joint early warning systems. Anadolu Ajansı reported that Shah argued Nepal is paying a “colossal price” for a crisis it did not create and urged climate cooperation with India and China. Anadolu Ajansı said Shah proposed that the mechanism would let Nepal, India and China share satellite data and scientific knowledge, monitor glacier lakes posing risks, strengthen cross-border early warning systems, and coordinate aid in the event of a disaster.
dhakamagazine reported that Shah called for international support and said Nepal’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is less than 0.1 percent, while the damage from the recent disaster is about $5 billion. dhakamagazine quoted Shah saying, “We need adequate grant-based support from the world,” as Nepal sought $20 million from the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund and the United States announced $31 million in assistance for post-flood recovery.