Nepali Prime Minister on Massive Floods: "Disaster Driven by Climate Change... International Community Must Respond"

Regarding the massive floods that swept through the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called on the international community to take action against climate change.

According to AFP on the 1st local time, Prime Minister Shah stated on social media late the previous night, "Now is the time for us to strongly raise the issue of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change to the international community."

He noted that this flood "was not an ordinary flood" and called it "a major disaster for this region."

He continued, "It has shown that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are growing alongside climate change," emphasizing that "therefore, this region must remain on high alert."

Nepal, an agricultural nation with a population of 30 million, accounts for a minimal share of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to major industrialized countries.

However, this massive flood has shown that Nepal is one of the countries hardest hit by climate change.

Stretching approximately 3,500 kilometers from Myanmar in the east to Afghanistan in the west, the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges supply water to Asia's 10 major rivers, including the Yangtze, Ganges, and Mekong, through some 63,700 glaciers.

Consequently, an estimated 2 billion people, including those in China and India, depend on the water resources and electricity generated from the glaciers in this region.

However, according to the United Nations, the melting rate of Himalayan glaciers from 2010 to 2020 was 65% faster than in the previous decade.

Furthermore, the risk of glacial lake outburst floods across the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges is projected to increase about threefold by the end of the 21st century.

In connection with this, Arvindra Khadka, a glaciologist at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, warned the U.S. daily The New York Times that Himalayan glaciers are melting by about 1 meter each year, stating, "The entire Himalayas are melting."

Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, also stated that snow and ice are disappearing across the Himalaya and Karakoram mountain ranges, adding, "The mountains are turning black. Every mountain faces rockfall problems."

As a result, snow and ice are disappearing from all mountains, including Mount Everest (8,848 meters), the world's highest peak, altering existing climbing routes and leading to a sharp rise in casualties among mountaineers, he explained.

Gurung emphasized that the avalanche on Broad Peak (8,047 meters) in late July, which claimed the lives of 10 people including renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja (43), is particularly concerning given that it occurred in an area previously considered a relatively stable climbing route.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.