"A new attribution study shows how warming rocks, thawing permafrost and melting ice formations created a catastrophic chain of impacts."
"Climate attribution researchers say “there is absolutely no doubt” that decades of global warming set the stage for the deadly rock and glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung Mountain in Nepal.
At least 1,300 people died in August when a cascade of semi-frozen sludge, boulders, trees and other debris roared through the region at speeds up to 100 mph and crested up to 300 feet high. The disaster destroyed and damaged towns, farms, orchards, roads, bridges and energy infrastructure, devastating livelihoods across the region. The total losses are now estimated at about $5 billion.
In a new analysis of the Aug. 26 disaster, a team of scientists with World Weather Attribution highlighted that record-hot temperatures baked the region in the months before the disaster. That was preceded by unusually high snowfall in late 2025, which is usually a very dry time for the region. Additional meltwater from the snow was probably another element in a complex chain of climate-linked factors contributing to the disaster, said Walter Immerzeel, a co-author of the new analysis.
Warming has hollowed out ancient ice and thawed the permafrost, the frozen ground that helps bind high mountain slopes together, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to collapse."
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News September 16, 2026.
