Climate Change Made Deadly Nepal Glacier and Rock Collapse More Likely, According to Analysis – WTOP News
- On Thursday, the World Weather Attribution report linked the August 26 collapse of Langtang Lirung mountain in Nepal to human-caused global warming, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving over 5,000 missing near China's border.
- Rising temperatures thinned glacier ice and thawed permafrost, destabilizing the Himalayan slope; pre-existing bedrock weaknesses from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake likely further compromised the mountain's structural integrity.
- The freezing line has shifted upward by roughly 100 meters per decade, exposing previously frozen rock. Human-induced climate change made monsoon temperatures in July and August around 1.5C warmer than baseline.
- Nepal estimates recovery costs at $4.8 billion, prompting officials to request $20 million from the United Nations' Loss and Damage fund while designing new monitoring systems to track unstable slopes.
- Researchers warn that events of this magnitude exceed current adaptation limits, placing more than 2 billion people living downstream in increasing danger as strengthening monitoring across the Himalayas remains a significant challenge.
104 Articles
104 Articles
The First Study on the Nepal Disaster Is Complete
A first-of-its-kind study into the Himalayan disaster that villed more than 1,300 people concluded that decades of warming likely weaken the ice and rock that suddenly broke loose, triggering a devastating series of events. The August 26 glacier collapse on Nepal's Langtang Lirung mountain smells more than 2 million...
PBS NewsHour
BizTocClimate change made deadly Nepal glacier and rock collapse more likely, analysis finds
Human-caused global warming thinned glaciers and thawed mountain permafrost, likely helping to destabilize the Himalayan slope that collapsed last month and unleashed catastrophic flooding across Nepal, according to a report released Thursday.
High temperatures pushed the ice sheets back and thawed the permafrost of the mountain, helping to destabilize the Himalayan slope
As suspicions increase that the tragedy caused by the flood in Nepal was influenced by accelerated melting of glaciers, the country has called for climate compensation for the impacts of climate change in the region, one of the most hit by climate phenomena, despite its low "contribution" to the climate crisis. Will there be more such tragedies caused by global warming? Alex Godoy Faundez, an expert in climate change mitigation and adaptation, e…
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