Over 1400 killed in flood, Nepal puts climate justice at centre of global pitch for laid
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Flood-hit Nepal is asking rich countries and global agencies to contribute to the $5 billion needed for initial rebuilding as the disaster shows how climate change has hit poor countries that did little to cause it, Reuters reported quoting the country’s disaster management chief.
The collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August that has left 1,429 dead and more than 5,649 missing across Nepal and Tibet.
Nepal will position the sum as a “climate-justice issue", according to the newswire. Reuters report added that the United States and China account for roughly a third of global emissions. Nepal has said in its submissions to the United Nations that its contribution to past and current greenhouse gas emissions is negligible.
UN official had warned that the Himalayan region was facing “severe risks” from future glacial floods, Reuters said. The report said that a 2020 study identified 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal, China and India, it added, although the real number is “estimated to be significantly higher”.
The Independent noted that the Nepalese prime minister said in a post on social media that the floods “were driven by the climate crisis” and “demanded international action as the Himalayan country assessed damage”.
Bloomberg reported calls for compensation by Nepal’s foreign minister, who said China, the US and India have made “extremely large” contributions to climate change and left smaller nations “enduring the price of it.”
Reuters pointed out that the floods have caused damage to property, housing and infrastructure worth at least $2.56bn
Nepal finance minister Swarnim Wagle will be in New Delhi for a two-day visit from Thursday for talks on post-flood reconstruction, TOI reported.
Himalayas approaching tipping point, millions of livelihoods at stake, report finds
The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point with its glaciers melting faster than a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches "peak water" by mid-century, Reuters reported citing a new study.
The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the Nepal-Tibet border, which caused cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below.
As glaciers retreat, they are leaving behind unstable glacial lakes held back by little more than loose rock and ice, above valleys where millions of people live, the study found.
There are an estimated 40,000 glaciers across the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, a vast mountain system spanning eight countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the study stated.
Close to 200 glacial lakes in India had been identified as high risk, with 56 classified as "very high risk", leaving millions exposed downstream.
As the region neared "peak water", the point when river flows start declining, it would have profound implications for water security, the researchers said. As the Himalayas underpinned more than 20% of India's GDP, the region made up a key piece of the country's national economic infrastructure, upon which hundreds of millions of people depended, the research said.
Though making up around 18% of India's land, the Himalayan region accounted for roughly 35% of the country's natural disasters, the report said.
Heat, weak monsoon continue to push up power demand
Weak monsoon and extreme heat has resulted in an unusual surge in electricity demand this September, with peak power demand nearing the level recorded during peak summer, reported the Indian Express. On September 10, the country’s peak power demand touched 269 gigawatts (GW), the highest-ever peak demand recorded for the month. So far, the peak power demand for the year was 270 GW which was recorded during the peak summer in May, the newspaper said.
The report attributed the increase to persistent heat and continuing cooling demand, with El Nino related weather conditions adding to it. The article explains that deficient rainfall raises irrigation demand, so agricultural pumping load rises at the same time as air conditioning load. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast monthly average maximum temperatures in September above normal over most of the country, and rainfall below normal at less than 91 per cent of the long period average. Between June 1 and September 9 India received 648 millimetres of rainfall against a normal of 760.6 millimetres, a seasonal deficit of 15%.
El Niño: Indonesia fire emissions in 2026 ‘on track’ to match record for this century
Wildfires, currently burning large swathes of land in Indonesia, have produced 76m tonnes of carbon (MtC) in 2026. This year they are being exacerbated by El Niño, analysis by Carbonbrief said. As in 2015 and in 1997, this year’s Indonesian fires come during an El Niño year, the outlet said.
According to the research, the naturally-occurring climate phenomenon, linked to ocean temperatures in the Pacific, periodically drives up temperatures and dries out land in Indonesia – creating the conditions for fires so immense that they imprint on global emissions.
Scientists are projecting that this year’s El Niño – which started in June and is expected to last into 2027 – will be one of the most intense on record.
Nearly 50 lakh hit by floods in Bihar as swollen rivers breach danger marks
Nearly 50 lakh people across 15 districts of Bihar have been affected by floods as heavy rain in recent days caused rivers already flowing above danger levels to swell further, officials said on Monday.Bihar has recorded 112.7 mm of rainfall so far this month, about six per cent above normal, according to the local weather office, reported TOI.
The affected districts include Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Samastipur, Munger, Katihar, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Purnea, Madhepura and Araria, the newspaper said.
According to the report, the Ganga was flowing at 36.19 metres at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur at 6.00 pm on Monday, 1.69 metres above the danger level.
The Kosi river was flowing above the danger mark at Baltara and Kursela, while the Budhi Gandak had crossed the danger level at Khagaria. The Ganga was above the danger mark at Digha, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon and Munger. The Punpun at Sripalpur, Bagmati at Benibad and Ghaghara at Darauli were also flowing above their respective danger levels.
The weather department has also warned of heavy to very heavy rain in Gujarat. At least three underpasses in Ahmedabad had to be closed as heavy rain lashed the city, leading to waterlogging in several areas. Videos on social media showed cars and two-wheelers stuck on the city’s inundated roads, IE reported.
The incoming ‘super’ El Niño will create chaos around the world. And we are far from ready for it
As super El Niño draws nearer, Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL wrote in the Guardian that “one of the biggest upheavals in a millennium is on its way, strengthened by the climate crisis”. He said that the growing “super” El Niño will “spawn a string of weather catastrophes around our world in what remains of this year and in 2027”. He said El Niño is “nothing new”, but it is now “supercharged” by global warming. He pointed out that : “As this year’s super-El Niño looms large, the UK government advises us to stock up on food while it prepares to greenlight the extraction of more fossil fuels from the North Sea. Cognitive dissonance doesn’t even begin to describe the idiocy of such thinking.”
UN: World now all but certain to 'overshoot' critical 1.5C global warming threshold
A UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) report said that Earth will heat up by at least 1.8C under even the “best-case” scenario, reported BusinessGreen.
The report does say that the world can still limit, adapt to and eventually reduce warming to 1.5C, the aspirational target of the Paris Agreement.
Atmospheric water vapour hits a new record
Climate scientist Andrew Dessler has analysed that atmospheric water-vapour levels have hit a new record increasing by 5.8%. He explained that Precipitable water (PWAT), the water in the atmosphere that’s available to condense and fall as rain or snow. The amount of water vapor that air can hold increases by roughly 7% for every degree Celsius of warming
The planet has been warming, so you might expect that the PWAT should also be rising. Indeed, this is what we see. August 2026’s PWAT was 1.5 mm above the average PWAT in August of the 1980s, a difference of 5.8%. This is in the ballpark of what we would expect given the ~1°C of global average warming over this period.
PWAT is one of the most important factors that controls the intensity of rainfall. In particular, we expect increases in PWAT to increase the frequency or intensity of extreme precipitation events.
World food prices at highest since 2022 as supply risks mount, FAO says
World food prices rose in August to their highest since late 2022, as adverse weather and war disruption in the Black Sea heightened concern over supply of staples, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said, Reuters reported..
The outlet added that extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Nino weather pattern and trade upheaval caused by the Ukraine and Iran wars have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar to a one-year peak.