In early August, I traveled to Nepal to do a trek in the Kathmandu Valley. My friend and I got to the Indian/Nepalese border later than expected, so our only option for getting to Kathmandu was to take a car in the middle of the night through the mountainous terrain. As a result of it being monsoon season, the most traversed and direct road had been blocked off due to landslides. So we had to take small roads, switch backing along the mountain’s edge. What was supposed to be a 5-hour drive ended up taking 9-hours. Around 3am, we had a frightening experience when a rush of mud came tumbling down the mountainside to our left, engulfing the tiny, windy road in front of us. Luckily our driver screeched to a halt, saving us from being caught in the path of the mudslide. Despite this close call, we were incredibly fortunate with the timing of our travels. Had we planned our trip for just two weeks later, we would have been caught in the extreme flooding that completely devastated much of Nepal and neighboring countries.
Bil Lama, our local guide, and I mid-trek in Nepal
This flood was a topic of discussion at a side event yesterday, titled “Countries’ Experiences with Regards to Loss and Damage, Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Risk Management: Case Studies from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Gambia, and Nepal.” One of the speakers was Manjeet Dhakal, a member of Nepal’s national delegation at the UNFCCC. He is also associated with Climate Analytics (the organization I am partnering with). His presentation was on the potential of loss and damage in the context of Nepal. Mr. Dhakal explained that Nepal, one of the Least Developed Countries, is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change and is already experiencing its harmful impacts. In fact, the average temperature in Nepal is rising at a faster rate than the global average. According to Mr. Dhakal’s presentation, it is projected that by 2050 the country’s average temperature will have risen by 1.7oC since 1975. This means Nepal is on track to experience a temperature change above the 1.5oC limit the Paris Agreement is aiming to stay below to avoid particularly dangerous climate scenarios.
Manjeet Dhakal speaking on Potential of Loss and Damage in Context of Nepal
One of the climatic changes Nepal is experiencing is more extreme precipitation. Mr. Dhakal explained that Nepal has seen a 15% increase in annual rainfall levels. He used the August floods as an example of this unusual precipitation. As you can see in the photo of his presentation (above), these extreme weather events have serious impacts on the local population. In Nepal, 1.7 million people were affected, 461 thousand were displaced, and 143 Nepalese were killed. These tragic figures are only a fraction of total losses experienced when taking into account the neighboring countries of India and Bangladesh. Mr. Dhakal stated, “floods do not understand political borders.” Dr. Saleemul Huq, a Bangladeshi scientist on the panel, added, “a friend of mine from Kathmandu sent me an SMS saying, ‘We are sending you water. Get ready.’ And then 10 days later it came.”
Below are OCHA’s statistics on the total humanitarian losses in the region. In total, 41 million people were affected and at least 900 people were killed as a result of the flooding.
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/SouthAsia_240817.pdf
When sitting in these conference rooms in Bonn, still warming up from the damp cold air outside, it is easy to feel removed from the impacts of climate change. However, today served as a reminder that climate change is already disrupting the lives of millions.
