Scientists: Climate Change Played a Role in the Flood Disaster in Nepal

Scientists have determined that climate change may have played a role in the glacier collapse that caused the flood that occurred in and around Nepal's Rasuwa region, close to the Chinese border, on August 26, killing more than 1,400 people.

Scientists working at World Weather Attribution, a research network operating in the field of climate science, examined the disaster that occurred in the Rasuwa region of Nepal.

Within the scope of the study, researchers determined that the disaster was a "composite event" caused by the combination of rising temperatures, thinning glaciers, thawing of permafrost and pre-existing geological vulnerabilities.

Researchers stated that the temperatures in July and August in the region are approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius higher due to the effect of climate change, and determined that the glaciers are thinning by approximately half a meter per year.

Researchers pointed out that climate change, which is a "destabilizing factor in the existing geological predisposition", may have been effective in the disaster, but it was not the only reason.

Researchers noted that the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the region in 2015 may have weakened the underlying rock mass, and stated that the exact effect of the earthquake on the glacier collapse has not yet been confirmed.

According to the BBC, Dr., a climate scientist at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the study. Friederike Otto stated that "there is no doubt that human-induced climate change played a role in creating the conditions that paved the way for this disaster."

Dr. from Utrecht University Walter Immerzeel also described the region as a "geologically sensitive slope" and stated that the slope may have been weakened by the earthquake in 2015 and became even more unstable as a result of the thinning of the glaciers.

Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Agency reported that the number of people who lost their lives in the flood in the country increased to 1403, and search and rescue efforts were continuing for 6 thousand 150 missing people.

The US Geological Survey, which announced that an earthquake first occurred in the region before the flood, updated its data and stated that the source of the 5.2 magnitude seismic movement was glacier collapse.