HighLights
  1. WWA analysis links climate change to Nepal's devastating floods.
  2. Record warmth in July-August weakened glacier before collapse.
  3. Shrinking glaciers, thawing permafrost increase mountain instability.

Nepal Floods: An analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) has suggested that climate change may have helped trigger the devastating rock and ice avalanche in Nepal on August 26. The findings come 22 days after the catastrophic flash floods struck Nepal and the China border region, killing over 1,400 people and leaving more than 5,179 missing.

What Does The Analysis Suggest

According to rapid-attribution analysis by the WWA, record warmth in July and August likely weakened the glacier and mountain slope before it collapsed, causing the deadly disaster in the region. While initial reports suggested that an earthquake may have caused the disaster, evidence later pointed to rapid collapse of about 2 square kilometres of rock wall and glacier ice.

The huge mass fell around 1,400 metres, from about 5,150 metres above sea level to the valley floor at around 3,750 metres. The collapse released an enormous amount of energy which then produced seismic waves that were first detected as an earthquake-like signal.

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How Climate Change May Have Weakened Mountain

The WWA analysis suggests that human-caused warming may have made the mountain slope more unstable. According to scientists, shrinking glaciers and thawing permanently frozen ground, also called permafrost, can weaken mountain slopes and make them more likely to collapse.

"When you combine high-elevation permafrost degradation with glacier retreat, and record summer heat, the structural integrity of these mountain walls is compromised,” said Professor Walter Immerzeel, Mountain Hydrologist at Utrecht University. He added that climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is pushing the freezing line upward by roughly 100 metres every decade.

Warmest July And August

The analysis also found that July and August 2026 were exceptionally warm in the area and were the warmest on record locally. Researchers believe that this unusual heat may have further weakened an already vulnerable mountain slope in the months before the collapse.

“July and August were exceptionally warm. We found that climate change is transforming the high mountain environment influencing many of the possible drivers of this collapse. This increases the risk in a region that is already exposed to high seismic activity," said Dr Ben Clarke, Extreme Weather and Climate Change Researcher, Imperial College London during the media briefing on Wednesday.

Scientists noted that the disaster was not caused by a single factor, instead several geological and climate-related factors led to it. While WWA analysis has not yet been peer-reviewed, the team asserted it used peer-reviewed methods to examine the role of climate change in the disaster. The World Weather Attribution is an international scientific collaboration that studies how human-caused climate change may influence extreme weather events.

Meanwhile, the findings and disaster have highlighted the growing risks faced by communities in the rapidly warming Himalayan region.

ALSO READ: 'No Privacy For Breastfeeding, Using Single Pad For 4 Days': Nepal's Mothers Struggle To Nurture Life In Crowded Shelters

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