Addressing the UN General Assembly, Nepal PM Balendra Shah called the country's catastrophic floods a stark warning to the world about the dangers of climate change.
New York: Addressing the United Nations, Prime Minister Balendra Shah declared that Nepal's catastrophic flooding last month ‘was a warning to the world’ about the rising dangers of climate change. He urged the international community to step up and help his vulnerable nation adapt.
The disaster occurred when a high-altitude glacial mountain collapse along the Nepal-China border triggered a devastating, tsunami-like flood.
The catastrophe resulted in more than 1,400 deaths, with 6,000 people still missing and economic damages reaching billions of dollars. Scientists classify the event as a compound crisis driven by long-term warming and local geological instability.
Shah warned that a warming climate is actively ‘destabilizing the fragile Himalayan ecology,’ melting glaciers and permafrost while accelerating natural hazards.
Emphasising the deep climate injustice, he pointed out that Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. ‘We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying for it,’ he told the assembly.
Asserting that Nepal cannot build resilience alone against a crisis worsened by global governance failures, Shah called for robust international financial support.
He also proposed creating a ‘Himalaya Climate Resilience Mechanism’ with neighbors India and China to share satellite data, monitor glacial lakes, and improve joint early warning systems.
