All eyes are currently on the disaster unfolding in Nepal. Devastating flash floods have claimed at least 500 lives, with over a thousand people reported missing. Netizens are shuddering at the images and videos circulating online. Amidst this situation, it has now come to light that two reports from five months ago had already hinted at the possibility of such a disaster.

An intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre working for the people of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region stated in two reports that the region's glaciers are melting at an increasingly rapid pace, and that the rate of ice melt has doubled in the quarter-century since the start of the new millennium. Separately, two reports published in March of this year claimed that...

Between 1990 and 2020, approximately 12 percent of the total glacier area melted. It has been observed that the thickness of the glacial ice has decreased by up to 27 meters since 1975.
However, the exact cause of this calamity remains unknown. Experts believe there are multiple contributing factors, a key one being incessant rainfall at an altitude of 4,000 meters—where snowfall would typically occur. A scientist from a central agency told a national media outlet that there is a definite link between the melting ice and this continuous rainfall.


It is worth noting that rescue operations, involving the clearing of debris, are currently underway in the devastated areas. Entire villages were wiped out in the blink of an eye. Disbelief still lingers in the eyes of eyewitnesses. The world is horrified by the sight of lives shattered by a massive surge of water that struck without any prior warning. Along with local residents, Indians have been among the hardest hit; the Ministry of External Affairs stated on Thursday that 288 Indians remain missing following the disaster. However, the central government claim, The information obtained is preliminary. In reality, the figure could be higher.