Nepal-China flood death toll tops 1,000 as Nepal’s PM calls for climate action

The death toll from floods along the China-Nepal border has exceeded 1,000, while thousands of people remain missing as rescue operations enter a seventh day.

Nepal’s disaster authority reported at least 987 deaths. Chinese state media confirmed 16 deaths in Tibet, bringing the combined toll to 1,003. Nepal reported 3,916 missing people, while China reported 546, for a total of 4,462.

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Not an ordinary flood.

Foreign nationals account for a large share of those still unaccounted for. Nepal’s missing include 583 people from more than 30 nationalities, while China’s list includes 261 foreigners from 23 countries. New Delhi said 275 Indian citizens and 128 people of Indian origin were missing in Nepal. The United States said 85 of its citizens were missing. Reports also listed 62 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 42 Australians and 33 Britons among the missing.

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It was one of the region’s major disasters, triggered by an avalanche of snow and ice in the Himalayan region.

Indian authorities in Uttar Pradesh recovered 17 bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal. Officials are working to identify them, and those bodies have not been added to the official death toll.

Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the flooding of the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa was “not an ordinary flood.” He attributed the disaster to an avalanche of snow and ice in the Himalayas and said the region’s risks were increasing alongside climate change. Shah called for Nepal to raise the issue internationally, arguing that the country has contributed little to the emissions driving global warming but is suffering its effects.

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This incident indicates that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing alongside climate change.

The wider Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges supply water to about 240 million people in mountain areas and another 1.65 billion people in downstream South and Southeast Asian river valleys. Scientists say glaciers in the Himalayas are melting faster as global temperatures rise.

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Therefore, this region must remain vigilant.