Kunda Dixit warns Nepal of fragile Himalayas and looming disaster risks

Kunda Dixit, veteran environmental journalist and publisher of the Nepali Times, argues that Nepal’s cultural view of the Himalayas as immutable masks their geological fragility. He details how the August 26 Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster was caused by a huge ice-rock avalanche that melted rapidly, creating a flood that devastated downstream communities and hydropower assets. Citing scientific studies, Dixit warns that a major earthquake could trigger simultaneous glacial-lake bursts across the region, threatening thousands of megawatts of power.

He calls for a shift to smaller, distributed hydropower projects, pumped-storage schemes, and greater reliance on solar and wind, while preserving forests and respecting ancestral settlement patterns on higher ground. Finally, he stresses the need for regional cooperation among Himalayan nations to share data and prepare for trans-border disasters.