World · South & Central Asia · 2 hrs ago
Nepal urges India and China to work together on Himalayan climate risks
At the UN General Assembly, Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah proposed a climate partnership involving Nepal, India and China.
He called for a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism to improve disaster response and share scientific data and expertise.
The proposal follows devastating debris floods in Nepal in August and addresses risks across the Himalayan region.
Rising temperatures are accelerating glacier loss and thawing permafrost, increasing the dangers of landslides, avalanches and sudden floods.
These disasters can cross borders and threaten lives, infrastructure and livelihoods downstream.
India and China have a long-running border dispute in the Himalayas, making cooperation difficult despite the shared risks.
Nepal's foreign ministry is preparing a preliminary framework, but neither neighbour has formally responded to the proposal.
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged India and China to work with Nepal on climate risks in the Himalayas.
He proposed a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism for cross-border disaster response and the sharing of scientific data and expertise.
The proposal is at an early stage, and neither India nor China has formally responded.
Rising temperatures are accelerating glacier retreat and permafrost thaw, increasing risks including floods, landslides, rockfalls and avalanches.
Disasters can cross national borders and threaten lives, infrastructure and livelihoods downstream.
- Who
- Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged India and China to cooperate, alongside Nepal.
- What
- He proposed a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism to improve disaster response and share scientific data and expertise.
- When
- Shah made the proposal in a speech at the recent UN General Assembly. The exact date is not stated.
- Where
- The Himalayan region, which spans Nepal, India and China.
- Why
- Climate-related risks are increasing, and disasters in the region can cross national borders.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Debris floods struck Nepal, highlighting climate-related disaster risks.
A report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development found that glacier ice loss across the Hindu Kush Himalaya had accelerated.
Balendra Shah called for a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism.
- Proposed mechanism
- Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism
- Proposer
- Balendra Shah, Nepal's prime minister
- India-China frontier
- Roughly 3,500km (2,175 miles)
- Hindu Kush Himalaya ice loss
- Rate doubled since 2000 compared with 1974–1999
- Qinghai-Tibet Plateau glacier area
- Shrunk by 24% over the past six decades
- Tibetan Plateau glacial lakes
- More than 14,000, covering over 1,100 sq km
What people are saying
Let the Himalayas become a laboratory of international co-operation rather than a frontier of fragmented information
The PM's proposal has given a political direction. Our ministry is working with other relevant agencies to put forward a preliminary framework which can be the basis for building common understanding