{"id":1668,"date":"2026-08-27T19:35:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T19:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2026-08-27T19:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T19:35:57","slug":"nepal-floods-demonstrate-threat-of-climate-driven-glacier-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668","title":{"rendered":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n

Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Read more The UN and Red Cross Are Calling for Restrictions on AI Drones and Killer Robots<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Preliminary investigations into the massive floods in Nepal earlier this week indicate that the cause of the disaster was likely glacial collapse, a phenomenon wherein a glacier or part of one disintegrates, resulting in a rush of water being released.<\/p>\n

The impact of the collapsing glacier was so monumental that it was initially but incorrectly identified as an earthquake, registering a 5.2 rating on the Richter scale. <\/p>\n

So far, at least 389 deaths have been counted from the devastating flooding that took place on Wednesday near the Lhende Khola and Bhote Koshi River in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. More than 1,300 individuals remain missing, among them at least 700 tourists (including around 90 Americans) who were visiting the region. <\/p>\n

While the exact cause of the flooding can\u2019t technically be attributed quite yet, a rapid analysis of the area by a team of geoscientists from satellite monitoring company Planet Labs suggests glacial collapse was to blame. According to before and after images, a glacier that was near the region was reduced by around 2 million square feet after the event occurred. <\/p>\n

Witness accounts of the devastation offer a horrifying glimpse into what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cNepal authorities are telling us entire villages are wiped out with waves of 8-10 meters. It\u2019s shocking,\u201d said Tommaso Della Longa, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva. \u201cThe scale of devastation is immense. There are areas that simply don\u2019t exist anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collapsing glaciers are sometimes a natural phenomenon, but as the planet continues to warm due to the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis, their rapid retreat and collapse have increasingly become a major threat to communities around the world.<\/p>\n

Read more Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened yesterday is unfortunately the new normal. It\u2019s going to get worse from here onwards,\u201d said Jakob Steiner, a geoscientist at the University of Graz in Austria, speaking to The Associated Press<\/em> about the situation. <\/p>\n

Simon Cook, a glacier expert with the University of Dundee in Scotland who also works with Planet Labs, agreed that the climate crisis was largely to blame for the disaster and possibly other future flooding events, telling the BBC <\/em>that:<\/p>\n

\n

The logic is that with a warming planet, you will see shrinking glaciers, lots of snow melt. The permafrost that is partially holding some mountainsides together is warming and thawing and degrading. So you are going to get more landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, glacier collapses, because climate warming ultimately destabilizes these high mountain environments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aakriti Dotel, National Network Coordinator for Nepalese Youth for Climate Action, described the floods as \u201canother painful reminder of the growing climate crisis facing Nepal and the Himalayas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs our glaciers melt and extreme weather events become increasingly unpredictable, communities living downstream are bearing the devastating consequences,\u201d Dotel explained in a 350.org press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mourn the lives lost and the livelihoods affected and call for urgent global climate action. There must be stronger support for vulnerable mountain communities, and accountability from those most responsible for the climate crisis,\u201d Dotel added.<\/p>\n

Read more RFK Jr. Says SNAP Cuts Won\u2019t Have \u201cThat Much Effect.\u201d 5 Million Have Lost Aid.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat happened yesterday is unfortunately the new normal,\u201d one geoscientist said of the devastating floods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nNepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhat happened yesterday is unfortunately the new normal,\u201d one geoscientist said of the devastating floods.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668\"},\"wordCount\":587,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668\",\"name\":\"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg\",\"width\":2300,\"height\":1533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1668#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Moving Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home","og_description":"\u201cWhat happened yesterday is unfortunately the new normal,\u201d one geoscientist said of the devastating floods.","og_url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668","og_site_name":"Smart Moving Home","article_published_time":"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"headline":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse","datePublished":"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668"},"wordCount":587,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668","name":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse - Smart Moving Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-27T19:35:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b09f21d6e88b1e90fc09de3f33c60d9a.jpg","width":2300,"height":1533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1668#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nepal Floods Demonstrate Threat of Climate-Driven Glacier Collapse"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/","name":"Smart Moving Home","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/smartmovinghome.com"],"url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}