Nbcdfw iconNbcdfwSep 25, 2026 ~5 min source read

Nepal’s prime minister tells U.N. that the recent deadly glacier flood is a warning about climate change

At the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the August glacier collapse and flood that killed at least 1,400 people shows vulnerable countries are paying a heavy price for emissions they did not cause, and called current international aid and finance systems inadequate.

Nepal's leader, at UN, says recent floods serve as a ‘warning to the world' about climate change

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Useful takeaways from this story.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the U.N. the August glacier collapse and flood were “a warning to the world” and urged faster, less bureaucratic international action.

Scientists link melting permafrost driven by fossil-fuel emissions to glacier instability that triggered the disaster, which killed at least 1,400 people and left many missing.

Shah asked for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and also responsibility, reparation, and resilience, criticizing existing climate finance as too slow and complex.

The useful part

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah speaks during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on September 24, 2026. Nepal's prime minister scolded fellow world leaders Thursday, saying the nation's recent deadly flood reminds a warming world that climate change keeps hurting people who didn't cause the crisis but now need help. Have you really heard that warning?" Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah said at the U.N.

How it works

  • Two workers were rescued after spending nine days trapped inside a hydroelectric plant tunnel on Nepal's Trishuli River following deadly flooding and a mudslide.
  • Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
  • "Our glaciers are retreating, our mountain slopes are becoming unstable, our rivers are becoming less predictable, and every major disaster threatens to erase years of development." He said climate change...
  • Former United States Vice President Al Gore said in an interview that Nepal's disaster shows that the climate crisis "was getting worse much faster" than people can handle and foreshadows problems with...
  • LEARN MORE Shah said that Nepal contributed less than one-tenth of 1% of the heat-trapping gases behind climate change.

What to take from it

Historical emissions matter because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for more than a century trapping heat. Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps and passports." Subeksha Khadka, a humanitarian and former Miss Nepal International, in an online interview, praised Shah's speech and echoed the warning: "This time Nepal has been on the target, but it could be anyone. "We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it," said Shah, 36, a former rapper and engineer who is the youngest head of government to address the General Assembly this year.

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  • Massages, nude photos, Hennessy In a black Dhaka topi, a traditional brimless Nepali hat, Shah spoke while wearing his signature dark sunglasses, which he uses for medical reasons.
  • He said "the tragic consequences of a warming climate" tells the world that "climate change does not recognize borders.
  • So it's time to act." Shah didn't ask for a specific amount in aid, but he called the international financial aid system inadequate and too bureaucratic.

Details worth keeping

This is our story right now, and it can be anybody else's tomorrow. This included a loss and damage fund agreed upon a few years ago for poor nations hit by climate disasters not of their own making. "Climate finance must not become another bureaucratic maze through which vulnerable countries spend years" maneuvering through when they need help.

Related coverage

  • Kmbc: At the U.N., Nepal's prime minister said the nation's recent deadly flood reminds a warming world that climate change keeps hurting people who did not cause the crisis.
  • Koreatimes: UNITED NATIONS, United States — The catastrophic Nepal flooding last month was "not just a local tragedy, it was a warning to the world," the country's Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations...
  • Wlky: At the U.N., Nepal's prime minister said the nation's recent deadly flood reminds a warming world that climate change keeps hurting people who did not cause the crisis.
  • Theguardian: Shah ⁠said ​Nepal's recovery and reconstruction needs were estimated at about 10% of GDP, as he appealed for more international support Nepal's prime minister scolded world leaders at the UN on Thursday,...
  • Youthkiawaaz: So i am operating in post-everything era. I am alone here.

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