The Guardian view on the Nepal-Tibet floods: a spur to action on climate | Editorial

The useful part

Supporting disaster-hit countries must be at the centre of climate politics Following a familiar pattern, coverage of the glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border three weeks ago has subsided with the initial shock. While the world's attention has shifted, Nepal remains in the midst of an appalling tragedy. As well as at least 1,300 people who are known to have been killed, more than 5,000 are missing, some of them trapped in tunnels linked to the 13 hydropower plants that were damaged by the floods.

How it works

• New research links last month's disaster to fossil fuel pollution.
• The first academic study linking the disaster to the climate crisis will now be added to that application.
• Scientists at Imperial College London, along with international collaborators on the World Weather Attribution project, found that a number of drivers of the glacier fall had been made worse by atmospheric...
• While not the sole cause, fossil fuel pollution was judged to have destabilised the geology of the mountain environment.

Example or evidence

• Last week the country's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, said that it would ask the UN's loss and damage fund for $20m (£15m) towards a total rebuilding cost of around $5bn (£3.75bn) – including the...

Details worth keeping

Families of the missing people are desperate for news.