With the death toll over 1,000 and thousands still missing, the human tragedy of the Nepal flooding disaster is undeniable. Some estimate the costs of reconstruction could equal up to a tenth of the country's entire economy.
Now attention is turning to what caused the disaster and how to prevent devastation on such a scale when "unprecedented" events like this happen again which, scientists say, they will.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has linked the disaster to climate change, saying: "The flood in the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa was not an ordinary flood. It was one of the region's major disasters, triggered by an avalanche of snow and ice in the Himalayan region."
In the social media post, he went on to say, "It is now time for us to strongly raise with the international community the issue of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change."
It would be reasonable to assume he is referring to the rich, industrialised countries which are responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions, unlike Nepal which is a largely rural country.
"Nepal is paying the price for a crisis it didn't create. This is a moment for countries not just to understand how much climate impacts can play havoc but also how much is needed urgently in terms of putting climate action front and centre of development policy," urges Aarti Khosla, director of research consultancy Climate Trends.
A Nepali police official stands next to a row of bodies of flash flood victims laid in a mass grave for burial in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. – AP Photo/Dar Yasin
On 26 August, a sudden flood swept through Nepal's Rasuwa district after a massive chunk of glacial ice and rock broke off from an altitude of about 5,200 metres and plunged roughly 1,200 metres into the valley below.
Inter-governmental body the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, has concluded that the flood was most likely triggered by an ice-rock avalanche, rather than a glacial lake outburst flood.
It's important to remember that attribution studies take months and researchers are still examining the precise sequence of events and whether long-term changes such as permafrost degradation and rock-slope instability played a role.
Nepal flood highlights growing risk of glacier disasters in the Alps
'It made me cry': Swiss glacier photos taken 15 years apart reveal staggering loss
It has emerged that the glacier that collapsed in Nepal had been in retreat for decades, like many glaciers across Europe.
"The failed glacier retreated by approximately 450m between 1990 and 2020, potentially reducing the mechanical support provided by the glacier to the underlying rock slope," says Professor Maria Shahgedanova, a climate scientist researching climate impacts on mountain glaciers at the University of Reading in the UK.
It has been known for decades that climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters. Scientists say the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, are warming at an unprecedented rate and losing ice faster than the global average.
