Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the UN that world leaders must act on climate change. Published September 25, 2026 September 25, 2026 Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called for action to combat the growing threat of climate change, calling the flood that devastated his country last month “a warning to the world.” Shah made the comments during his address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday evening. He told those gathered that the August disaster “was not just a local tragedy” and asked: “Have you really heard that warning?” [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]At least 1,453 people died when a torrent of mud, rocks and water hit northern Nepal and the China-Tibet border on August 26, triggered by a collapsing glacier. According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 5,500 people were still missing and 13,795 had been rescued. Researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said in a report published last week that the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, but rather a “composite crisis” shaped by long-term warming, glacial retreat, thawing permafrost and geological instability. Shah said climate change was harming people who were not responsible for the crisis but “are paying a colossal price for it.” He said Nepal contributed less than a tenth of 1 percent of the heat-trapping gases behind climate change. About 99 percent of the country’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power and many workers were trapped in tunnels by flooding. “Our glaciers are receding, our mountain slopes are becoming unstable, our rivers are becoming less predictable, and every major disaster threatens to erase years of development,” Shah said. Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York City, USA, on September 24, 2026. [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]Shah urged the international community to help bear the cost of helping Nepal adapt to climate change. He proposed creating a ‘Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism’ that would include Nepal and its neighbors India and China, and allow them to share satellite data and expertise, monitor glacial lakes, and strengthen joint early warning systems. Nepal has asked the U.N. loss and damage fund for $20 million in aid, the maximum allowed, but a small fraction of what it needs. A preliminary government assessment has put the cost of the disaster at $5 billion. The fund, created in 2022 after the catastrophic floods in Pakistan, has yet to make even its first disbursement, and observers see Nepal as a key test of its credibility. Earlier this week, the United States pledged an additional $31 million in new support for flood recovery.
