Nepal’s leader labels devastating flood a ‘warning to the world’

Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the UN that world leaders must act on Climate Change.Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah has appealed for action to combat the rising threat of Climate Change, calling the Flood that devastated his country last month “a warning to the world”.Shah made the comments during his address to the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday night. He told the gathering that the August disaster “was not just a local tragedy”, asking them the question, “Have you really heard that warning?”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The Nepal floods question: When the Himalayas collapse, who gets warned?list 2 of 3Photos: Nepal Flood survivors find little trace of former liveslist 3 of 3‘Orphaned’ by floods, more than 500 Nepali children face uncertain futureend of listPolitical leaders “have been negligent to translate those warnings in action at the speed and scale that the vulnerable people require,” he said.An excavator clears mud from damaged houses following deadly flash floods and a mudslide, in Nuwakot district, Nepal, on September 21, 2026 [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]At least 1,453 people died when a torrent of mud, rock and water struck northern Nepal and the China-Tibet border on August 26, triggered by a Glacial collapse.According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 5,500 people were still missing and 13,795 had been rescued.Researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said in a report released last week that the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, but rather a “compound crisis” shaped by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability.Shah said Climate Change was hurting people not responsible for the crisis but who “are paying a colossal price for it”.He said Nepal contributed less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the heat-trapping gases behind Climate Change. About 99 percent of the country’s electricity comes from hydropower, and many workers were trapped in tunnels by the flooding.