{"id":60150020,"date":"2026-09-03T13:16:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&p=60150020"},"modified":"2026-09-03T13:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:17:04","slug":"nepal-china-floods-linked-to-global-warming-say-researchers","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/nepal-china-floods-linked-to-global-warming-say-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal-China floods linked to global warming, say researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chinese researchers say the glacier collapse that led to deadly floods in the Nepal-China border area was influenced by global warming.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nepal\u2019s Rasuwa district and China\u2019s Gyirong port in the Tibet Autonomous Region were badly damaged on 26 August. More than 1,270 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal and 4,700 remain missing, reported<\/a> Al-Jazeera. At least 21 people were killed and 541 remained missing on the Chinese side as of 2 September, Xinhua reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe disaster was caused by the destabilisation of glaciers due to the long-term effects of global warming,\u201d stated<\/a> Su Pengcheng, a researcher at the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said a glacier on the northern face of Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal ruptured at about 5,200 metres altitude, triggering an ice-rock avalanche<\/a>. This travelled about 22 kilometres downstream through a valley before reaching Gyirong port at around 1,800 metres above sea level.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The avalanche took only about 6 to 7 minutes to reach the border, Su said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors contributing to the destabilisation included warmer spring and summer temperatures, increased meltwater and thawing high-altitude permafrost, reported<\/a> Xinhua, citing a recent joint research team led by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers also noted a \u201cgradual expansion\u201d effect \u2013 as the debris flowed downstream they incorporated material from the valley and its banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings come amid growing concerns over climate change and the increasing instability of high-altitude environments. Experts cited<\/a> by People\u2019s Daily said ice avalanches are expected to become more frequent as global warming continues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma Lijuan, a senior engineer at the National Climate Center, said<\/a> the sudden nature of ice avalanches and the limited number of monitoring stations at high altitudes mean existing systems cannot reliably identify warning signs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma called for an Earth system observation network \u2013\u00a0meaning a group of instruments based on land, in the air and in space \u2013 to monitor the region’s high-risk glaciers and glacial lake areas. She suggested further research be done into the mechanisms behind major glacial hazards. A comprehensive early-warning indicator system is needed to assess and forecast future risks, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s recent <\/em>Q&A article<\/em><\/a> on the floods.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chinese researchers say the glacier collapse that led to deadly floods in the Nepal-China border area was influenced by global warming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[761,50039903],"tags":[519,20000192,50040713,20000022,587,50040707],"country":[20000110,20000113],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60150020","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-water","tag-climate-impacts","tag-disasters","tag-glaciers","tag-himalayas","tag-rivers","tag-the-third-pole","country-china","country-nepal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNepal-China floods linked to global warming, say researchers | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chinese researchers say the glacier collapse that led to deadly floods in the Nepal-China border area was influenced by global warming\" \/>\n<meta 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