Thawing permafrost and glacier retreat helped set stage for deadly Nepal collapse | AP News
Human-caused global warming resulting in the Himalayan permafrost thawing was, in part, responsible for the catastrophic glacier and boulder collapse last month. The sudden floods killed thousands and resulted in billions of dollars in damages in Nepal, a report released Thursday found. The World Weather Attribution group said planet heating has pushed the freezing threshold in mountains upward by roughly 100 meters per decade. This has led to glacial thinning and thawing of permafrost that held the mountains together. Already destabilized mountains as a result of the 2015 Nepal earthquake combined with climate-related factors are likely the primary causes of last month’s disaster.