Alpine glaciers melt faster, raising disaster risk as aid to Nepal dwindles

The author, a professor of glaciology, describes the Nepal disaster that claimed roughly 1,500 lives and displaced thousands, attributing it to climate-induced glacier instability. He draws parallels with the European Alps, where melting ice has already caused fatal rockfalls, such as the Marmolada incident in July 2022, and forced guides to abandon popular routes on the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. Data show Swiss Alpine glaciers shed 10 % of their volume between 2022 and 2023, suggesting most could disappear within twenty years if melt rates persist.

He warns that similar melt patterns threaten western Canada, the United States, Scandinavia and the Himalaya, where ice loss has accelerated since the 1970s. The article criticises the UK’s decision to cut bilateral aid to Nepal from £45 million to £5 million and highlights the slow processing of Nepal’s $20 million claim to the UN loss-and-damage fund. He argues that proactive climate adaptation funding is more cost-effective than reactive disaster relief and that neglecting vulnerable regions may spur migration and broader instability.