Global Watch | Nepal's Himalayan Disaster Puts China's Mega-Dam Ambitions Under Fresh Scrutiny

China's latest undertaking is the enormous hydropower development on Yarlung Zangbo - the river that becomes the Brahmaputra after entering India and later flows into Bangladesh.

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The wall of mud, ice, rock and water that swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region on August 26 has become one of the Himalayan region’s deadliest disasters in recent years. More than 400 confirmed deaths have been reported, while authorities are searching for nearly 1,500 missing people, including hundreds of foreign tourists and pilgrims. Villages, bridges, roads, electricity infrastructure and hydropower facilities have left an unprecedented trail of yet another disaster in the Himalayan areas.

The disaster has once again brought growing concerns over development versus ecological balance into sharp focus. Preliminary evidence points towards a massive ice-rock or glacier collapse that sent debris into the Lhende Khola river system. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has cautioned that investigations are continuing and that the precise role of climate change in this particular event remains under study. What the disaster does expose is something broader: the growing collision between unstable Himalayan geology, rapidly changing glaciers and rivers that cross international borders.

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The recent Rasuwa flood surged through Nepal with extraordinary force, producing a rapid flood wave across the Trishuli basin. ICIMOD reported that water levels at Galchhi rose by up to nine metres in 30 minutes, while Malekhu recorded a roughly seven-metre rise over the same period. Scientists are investigating whether an ice-rock avalanche from high altitude triggered the event; a remaining river blockage may still pose a risk of another sudden downstream surge. Initial reports described a magnitude-5-class........

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