Nepal Demands Climate Compensation After Glacial Flood Kills 1,000

Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal is demanding climate compensation from the United States, China, and India following catastrophic flash floods that killed over 1,000 people. The disaster was triggered by a glacial collapse in the Rasuwa district along the border with China, an event the United States Geological Survey determined occurred without prior rainfall.

Casualty reports vary slightly between 1,003 and 1,010 deaths, with the vast majority occurring in Nepal and 16 deaths reported in China. Khanal described the disaster as a "catastrophic mountain tsunami" and noted that Nepal contributes only 0.04% of global emissions.

Kathmandu is now shifting its diplomatic strategy from requesting aid to demanding justice and compensation. Khanal argued that the responsibility of wealthy, industrial emitters is a matter of legal and moral liability rather than charity, asserting that Nepal is paying the price for a global crisis it did not create.