We are paying for the climate crisis with lives and homes. The Nepal-Tibet floods must spark action

What happened in Nepal and Tibet is the scene of a climate crime. Those responsible are fossil fuel companies and polluting countries, and they must be held accountable.

After a week of the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck northern Nepal on the morning of August 26, what remains are families mourning those who will never return, desperate rescue efforts, humanitarian aid, and overcrowded hospitals.

As of 2 September, more than 1,000 deaths have been confirmed. As many as 11,800 people have been rescued. Nearly 4,000 people remain missing, including many tourists and pilgrims who were heading to Lake Gosainkunda in Rasuwa. At least twelve hydroelectric power plants have suffered massive damage, while more than 40 bridges have been destroyed.

Read more:

The floods occurred ahead of the Janai Purnima festivities, which mark the end of the rice planting season, and Raksha Bandhan, when sisters tie a protective bracelet around their brothers’ wrists, wishing them a long and healthy life.

But this year, the festive spirit is missing. We often quote the poem by the national poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire: “How can we grow taller if the Himalayas themselves cease to exist?”