Climate change had major role in triggering Nepal floods, scientists say
The combined toll from the deadly incident now stands at 1,446 people dead and at least 6,669 missing.
Scientists say climate change was a core contributing factor in last month’s deadly glacial mountain collapse that flooded parts of Nepal and Tibet, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving thousands still missing.
Researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said in a report released on Thursday that the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, but rather a “compound crisis” shaped by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability.
WWA uses peer-reviewed methods to assess the role played by global warming in extreme weather events, according to its website.
Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared with industrialised nations.