Nepal Floods: What we now know about the glacier collapse

Nearly a week after the devastating flash floods in Nepal’s Rasuwa region, the scale of the disaster has grown dramatically.

Scientists and geohazard experts have a clearer picture of what may have happened on August 26. Evidence points to the collapse of a massive section of glacier on Langtang Lirung, triggering a high-speed torrent of ice, rock and water that surged into the Lhende Khola river system.

Experts say the event was unusual in both its scale and mechanism. But while climate change is driving rapid glacier change across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, scientists caution that it is still too early to definitively attribute this disaster to global warming.

This is an update on what we know so far about the Nepal floods, the glacier collapse and the growing concerns over unpredictable high-altitude hazards.