How will melting glaciers change Nepal? The Climate Question, BBC World Service

The recent flash floods have shown the world that Nepalis are on the front line of climate change. Can they adapt?

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Thousands of people are dead or missing in Nepal after a glacier collapsed in the Himalayas, triggering devastating floods.

And this is not the only flood risk that Nepalis face in a warming world.

Scientists are also worried about melting glaciers forming lakes which can suddenly burst.

In this edition of The Climate Question, Host Jordan Dunbar talks to two Nepali climate researchers about the new dangers emerging in the Himalayas and their enormous cultural and economic impact. They also explore what can be done to protect a unique way of life.

Jordan's guests are Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa, a glaciologist at Utrecht University, and Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, an anthropologist at the University of British Columbia, who researches how climate change affects indigenous groups in Nepal.

The show was recorded in July 2026, one month before the recent disaster.

00:00 Introduction
01:36 An Everest 1953 legacy
03:13 What's happening to the glaciers and glacial lakes
04:02 Why a glacial lake is a ticking time bomb
04:39 GLOFs explained: fewer lakes, bigger lakes
05:54 Living underneath a glacial lake
07:46 After the 2024 Thame flood
08:47 What indigenous values offer for survival
10:08 Farming, herding and a shifting Everest Base Camp
11:14 Tourism under unpredictable weather
12:48 The impact on Nepal's economy
14:03 Two billion people downstream
15:33 Too much water, then too little
15:51 How communities want to adapt
16:18 Wildlife, disease and yaks moving uphill
18:28 Early warning systems in Khumbu
20:23 Can Sherpa culture survive relocation?
22:30 Is there hope? Adapting in the mountains

Watch more episodes from The Climate Question here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4dlFahw2svjb6-aW_BVOn4x
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