28/08/2026
IS CLIMATE CHANGE NO LONGER A WARNING… BUT A REALITY?
What happened in Nepal on 26 August 2026 has left the Himalayan region devastated.
A sudden collapse of ice and rock near the Nepal–Tibet border unleashed an enormous surge of water, mud and debris into the river system, sweeping away bridges, roads, settlements and, tragically, human lives. The exact chain of events is still being investigated.
But one question refuses to leave my mind:
Is climate change no longer something we talk about for the future? Is it already happening around us?
Glaciers are retreating. Mountain slopes and frozen terrain are becoming increasingly unstable. Scientists have repeatedly warned that a warming Himalaya can increase the risks of glacial floods, landslides and sudden extreme events.
I cannot look at this tragedy without remembering our own Teesta GLOF disaster of 2023.
We know that pain!!!!
We know what it feels like when a river that gives life suddenly becomes a force of destruction. We know the silence after the water recedes the missing people, shattered homes, broken livelihoods and families waiting for someone who may never return.
That is why the pain of Nepal feels so close to home.
But perhaps this is also a moment to pause and listen to Mother Nature.
Climate change is one part of the story but human activity, unplanned construction, fragile infrastructure and settlements in vulnerable river corridors can add fuel to natural hazards.
We cannot stop every mountain from moving or every river from rising.
But we can prepare.
We can monitor.
We can respect the rivers.
We can protect our forests and mountains.
We can build smarter.
And we can stop treating nature as limitless.
The Himalayas are not just mountains.
They are our water towers, our homes, our heritage and our warning system.
Today, Nepal is grieving.
Tomorrow, it could be another Himalayan community.
Let us not wait for another disaster to understand the message.
My deepest prayers for every life lost, every family waiting for their loved ones, and everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy.
The Himalayas are speaking.
Are we listening?
