Nepali flood victims look to PM Shah to press climate case at UN

As Nepal’s prime minister heads to the UN seeking climate justice, survivors of the catastrophic floods that tore through Himalayan valleys are counting on the young leader to give voice to their grief.

Balendra Shah, 36, will press for international support at the UN General Assembly this week after the disaster that killed more than 1,400 people and left over 6,000 missing in Nepal and China’s Tibet region.

Scientists say climate change played a key role in the Aug 26 floods, fuelling Nepal’s argument that vulnerable mountain nations are paying a heavy price for a crisis they did little to create.

For teenager Karma Lama, that argument is rooted in his devastating loss.

The 17-year-old lost his parents and five other relatives when torrents of water, mud and debris swept through mountain communities.

“We need homes, we need a livelihood… big countries of the world should know our plight,” the 17-year-old told AFP from a temporary shelter.

“He has to speak for us, for the flood victims.”

Lama was on his way to school when the flood struck.

With roads and bridges washed away, he walked for hours through forests to reach his village in the badly hit Rasuwa district, only to find it gone.

“What I really want is my parents back. But that is not possible.

Almost a month after the catastrophe, helicopters still ferry food and medicine to isolated settlements while rescue teams continue searching for bodies.

Across Nepal’s flood-hit valleys, thousands face the same uncertain future.

Rethinking projects

In Nuwakot district, excavators claw through debris through houses buried beneath mounds of grey silt.

Shoes and schoolbooks remain scattered across the ruins, with air conditioners hanging outside windows.

Among those being forced to start over is Sobita Rijal, 35, who still has the keys to the three-storey home where she and her husband once ran a small shop.

Half the building now lies beneath debris, and the family now lives in a cramped rented room.

“I don’t know what caused this, I don’t know what climate change is,” she said.

“But what I can say is that we need help… we are a small country.”

The disaster has exposed the risks facing communities living below the world’s highest peaks, where even a small increase in global temperatures can destabilise glaciers and river systems.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that contributes only a tiny share of greenhouse gas emissions, estimates reconstruction could cost US$4.78 billion.

The country must not only rebuild towns and transport links but also decide how to resettle thousands displaced by the flood.

It will also have to rethink infrastructure projects, including hydropower plants and trade corridors built in fragile mountain terrain.

‘Pain is deep’

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group have said climate change was a key driver of the disaster, describing it as a “compound crisis” fuelled by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability rather than a single extreme weather event.

The flooding has added urgency to Nepal’s calls for climate finance and compensation from wealthy nations.

Countries agreed to create a “loss and damage” fund in 2025 to help vulnerable states cope with climate impacts, although payments have yet to begin.

The stakes extend far beyond Nepal.

Glaciers across the wider Hindu Kush-Himalayan region supply water to some 240 million people in the mountains and another 1.65 billion living downstream across South and Southeast Asia.

Manjeet Dhakal of Climate Analytics said the disaster gave Nepal “a very strong ground” to make the case for climate justice before the international community.

“We should… remind the global community of its responsibility to urgently reduce emissions to limit temperature rise and scale up support for climate action in vulnerable countries,” he said.

“This sympathy has to be translated into real action.”

Survivors such as 51-year-old Narayan Prasad Khatiwada hope that the suffering of those who lost everything is not forgotten once the world’s attention moves on.

“We are a small country. If we had all the resources, we would not need support from anyone. The big countries must help,” he said.

“I hope the prime minister delivers a good message. Our pain is deep, very deep.”

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