A catastrophic glacier collapse in the Himalayas has left Nepal confronting one of its deadliest natural disasters in decades — and raised new warnings about the dangers posed by a warming climate.
The disaster began Aug. 26 near Nepal’s border with Tibet, when a massive section of rock and glacier ice broke loose at high elevation. The material plunged into a river valley, gathering water, mud and debris before surging down the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system. The fast-moving torrent buried villages, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities.
At least 1,400 people were killed in the flood across Nepal and Tibet, while more than 5,400 remained missing. Debris and damaged roads continue to hamper rescue operations.
Authorities estimate that about 20,000 homes must be rebuilt, many in safer locations. Preliminary losses in Nepal total approximately $2.56 billion.
Scientists have not yet established the collapse’s precise trigger. Preliminary satellite analysis found unusually warm conditions during the preceding week but no exceptional rainfall.
Rising temperatures melt and thin glaciers, thaw ice that helps bind mountain slopes together and allow water to penetrate cracks. Those changes can destabilize ice and rock, while also creating or enlarging glacial lakes capable of bursting without much warning.
The danger is not confined to Nepal. Similar cascading disasters can threaten communities below glaciers in the Andes, European Alps, Alaska and other high-mountain regions.
Climate change will not cause every glacier collapse, and development in flood paths affects the death toll. But continued warming is creating new hazards and magnifying existing ones.
Guest:
Marianne Karplus is an Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences at University of Texas at El Paso. Karplus is also a seismologist and geophysicist researching the structure and tectonics of the Earth's lithosphere.
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This interview will be recorded live on Wednesday September 9, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
