Over 200 people have been killed or missing in the floods and landslides caused by unprecedented rains lashing Nepal for the last five days. Thousands have been displaced in different parts of the mountainous country.
On Monday, authorities announced the shutting down of all educational institutions. Several school and university buildings have also been damaged after facing the brunt of the torrential rains.
The capital Kathmandu has been one of the most affected regions in the country with a large number of neighborhoods flooded or covered with the mud due to rain water, which has also caused the water levels in the Bagmati river to rise. The flood and landslides have destroyed numerous homes, bridges, roads, and vehicles, leaving a large number of people stranded.
Many flooded areas are localities where poor and working class people live. Their houses have been inundated with water and mud, which may take longer to clear, raising the risk of the breakout of epidemics after the water recedes.
According to Nepal’s Ministry of Transport, 47 out of 80 highways in the country have been affected by the rains and landslides, greatly impacting transportation. Over one hundred flights were canceled due to heavy rains, and the Kathmandu airport stopped operating on Friday and Saturday for several-hour-long periods. It re-started operations again on Sunday morning.
Several power plants have also been damaged due to the flooding and landslides, disrupting the power supply to different parts of the country.
The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) issued a statement earlier asking the government to increase its efforts to relief and rescue work. The party also asked cadres to participate in flood relief efforts.
The heavy rains in Nepal could also have a significant impact in India. In Indian states like Bihar, the flooding was already worsening in the last couple of weeks. Thousands of people have been displaced in several bordering regions in Bihar in the last couple of days, with most of the rivers in the region flowing far above the danger mark.
According to official data, at least 1.6 million people on the Indian side of the border are already severely affected due to the floods. Several schools and other public services have been affected. Local power grids are also shutting down due to flooding, leaving thousands without electricity.
Effects of climate change
Heavy rains during the monsoon season in South Asia are normal. However, in the last few years, local meteorological officials have claimed the severity of rains has increased and the monsoon has been significantly prolonged. The monsoon has shifted its usual duration. Its withdrawal, stretching until the month of October, is quite unusual, resulting in larger repercussions on the region’s agriculture.
From Thursday to Saturday, Kathmandu received 322 mm rainfall against an annual average of around 2,700 mm, causing a sudden rise in the water levels in the region’s rivers. On Saturday alone, some parts of the city received 240 mm rainfall within 24 hours, a record in over two decades.
Several studies indicate that Nepal has emerged as one of the most vulnerable countries in the context of climate change. The rise in the country’s average temperature is much higher than that of the global average (0.056 degrees Celsius against the global average of 0.03 degree Celsius), for example. The rise in temperature has caused the melting of several glaciers in the country, again endangering the local climate as well as the livelihoods of millions of people.
Despite the seriousness of the climate situation in Nepal, most of the developed world has largely been indifferent to its concerns in the climate negotiations so far. Raising the issue, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while speaking during the ongoing UN General Assembly’s 79th session on Thursday said that the world needs to pay attention to the possible effects of climate change in a country such as Nepal which is a “natural climate stabilizer” vital for maintaining balance in the global environment.
Given its significance for global climate concerns, “it is essential that the mountain agenda receive due attention in climate negotiations,” Oli said.
