Daily Briefing: Nepal flood climate ‘risk’ | China’s crops ‘battered’ | Surfing spots threatened

28.08.26

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News

Climate change raises risk of disasters like Nepal flood

Maxine Joselow and Leo Sands, The New York Times

There is ongoing media coverage of the flood that hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people, with many outlets carrying the story on their frontpage. The New York Times says “an enormous chunk of bedrock collapsed underneath a glacier, triggering a landslide high in the mountains”. The newspaper adds that climate change is causing permafrost in the Himalayas to thaw, “destabilising the foundation underneath glaciers, raising the risks of precisely these kinds of landslides and glacial collapses”. Bloomberg reports that ice from the glacier may have blocked a river, “causing water to quickly accumulate and ultimately surge downstream”. The Daily Telegraph says that “a large ‌amount of snow had melted in the 24 hours before the disaster”. Reuters adds: “While experts caution against describing climate change as the sole, immediate trigger for Wednesday’s collapse, they say that rising temperatures and melting glaciers probably played a role in the disaster.” Outlets including the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, the Guardian, the Associated Press, the Times and Forbes all note the link to climate change. The Guardian reports that nearly 1,400 people are missing. Reuters says: “Nepal and China both warned on Thursday of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on either side of their border threaten to burst.” The South China Morning Post says it is “unclear” whether an early warning system for Himalayan glacial lake outburst floods issued alerts before the disaster. The Financial Times says that China suspended rescue this morning “after a lake formed by the disaster began overflowing, threatening to send a new torrent of debris downstream”.

In China, an expert with the Ministry of National Resources tells the People’s Daily the collapse was a “chain reaction” of factors, including climate change. The expert gives similar comments to Xinhua. China’s central committee emphasised the need to investigate glaciers in the region, “enhance the ability to identify risks in disaster chains” and “balance development and security”, said Xinhua. The meeting readout did not mention climate change. Reporting by outlets including the Paper, the Global Times, Guangming Daily, China Youth Daily and Caixin mention the role of climate change in the disaster.

As super El Niño strengthens, study suggests that climate change is intensifying El Niños

Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

A new study finds that El Niño events are becoming stronger due to climate change, according to the Associated Press. The newswire explains that the study uses data from coral skeletons to look at El Niño events going back around 900 years. It says: “El Niños are more than 36% stronger than they were before the industrial age began in the mid 1800s, with a 16% jump in just the last 40 years showing that the increase is accelerating, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Science.” It adds: “Outside scientists are split on the research, with some hailing it as important and trustworthy and others saying they don’t buy it because it clashes with some recent observations.” Inside Climate News, the Independent, CNN, Scientific American and the Guardian also cover the study.

MORE ON OCEANS

Reuters reports that El Niño has brought rain and a rise in temperatures to Peru and “could put more than 1 million people at risk in regions of the country vulnerable to ‌ climate change”.
Inside Climate News covers new research, which finds that “greater exposure to marine heatwaves increases the odds of children dying, suffering stunted growth or experiencing a life-threatening form of malnutrition called wasting that causes a child to become dangerously underweight”.

Heat, floods threaten China crops as US farm purchases loom

Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson, Reuters

High temperatures and heavy rain have “battered” China’s “key corn, soybean and cotton-growing regions since mid-July”, reducing crop quality and yields, reports Reuters. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post says that Chinese premier Li Qiang visited Heilongjiang and Jilin, two major grain-producing provinces, where he urged “all necessary measures” to secure the autumn harvest. It adds that Li’s visit came as “extreme weather and disruptions to commodity and fertiliser shipments have been weighing on global food production”. Li called for strengthening farmers’ capacity to ensure “stable and high yields regardless of droughts or floods”, according to state news agency Xinhua. Meanwhile, Typhoon Saudel is expected to cross China’s south-eastern coast early Friday and “hit the same region that Typhoon Dolphin struck three weeks ago”, reports Bloomberg.

MORE ON CHINA

Australian energy minister Chris Bowen and Chinese environment minister Huang Runqiu discussed “strengthen[ing] energy security while transitioning away from fossil fuels”, reports the Australian.
China Environment News carries an article bylined by Zhong Huanping – denoting approval from senior environmental officials – saying that new accountability measures for “leading cadres” reinforces the “political responsibilities” around environmental protection.
Tsinghua University’s Xie Maosong told the South China Morning Post that China’s anti-corruption campaign is “breaking the political stranglehold of…coal money”.
The NDRC’s Lyu Wenbin told People’s Daily that ensuring low-carbon power can be transmitted and utilised is key to the construction of a “new energy” system.
Global Times: “Green transition must not be swayed by political cycles.”
The South China Morning Post has an article outlining the “technological advances” that will help China’s nuclear power industry to continue expanding, despite worsening climate extremes.

UK: Homes damaged as storms follow heatwaves in England and Wales

Neha Gohil, The Guardian

The Environment Agency issued 40 flood alerts across the Midlands, Yorkshire and south-east of England, the Guardian reports. According to the newspaper, “thundery showers” were forecast and expected to drop 75mm of rain in 12 hours in some areas. It adds that “dozens of homes have been damaged by flooding”. The newspaper continues: “Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that global heating is causing more volatile weather patterns in the UK, with intense heatwaves, droughts, flooding and storms.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times says: “England’s exceptionally dry summer has taken a heavy toll on the sporting landscape, disrupting fixtures, damaging playing surfaces and putting pressure on the finances of leading spectator sports.” The Guardian says that chefs are switching from gas to induction hobs “as kitchen temperatures soar”. BBC News reports that “around 200 elective procedures have been cancelled in Jersey over the summer months due to the failure of chiller units in operating theatres”.

MORE ON UK

The Times reports that Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party, has “urged ministers to ‘put the brakes on’ new data centres over their environmental impact”. BBC News reports that “there are hundreds of data centres in the UK – with plans for many more”.
BusinessGreen reports that a record number of solar installations has been completed across the UK since the start of 2026.
The Guardian: “Hundreds of Britain’s smallest power plants could remain at a higher risk to state-sponsored cyber-attacks until the 2030s despite a successful Iran-linked hack last month, it has emerged.”
The Daily Telegraph reports that “the boss of British Gas’s owner has warned the UK risks fuel shortages this winter as stockpiles fall”.
The Daily Telegraph covers a warning from the Tories that “new wind farm subsidies will push household energy bills even higher”.

US: Trump administration proposes changes to Biden-era climate report

Rachel Frazin, The Hill

The Trump administration has promised “reframing” a portion of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which was released in 2023, the Hill reports. It continues: “In a notice published this week, the Trump administration described the federal climate report’s high-emission scenarios as not representing ‘plausible policy-relevant baseline futures and should not be used to frame expected, likely, central, or business-as-usual conditions for federal decision making.’” This comes after “UN scientists said earlier this year that a worst-case scenario was not plausible”, the outlet says. Carlos Martinez, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the outlet that “changing the report was ‘unprecedented’ and that the administration should instead make sure the next iteration of the report contains updated information”. (See Carbon Brief’s factcheck on “Trump’s false claims about the IPCC and ‘RCP8.5’ climate scenario” for more information on the climate scenario.)

MORE ON US

The Associated Press covers new research, which finds that “the Trump administration relied on flawed logic to justify scrapping vehicle emissions standards this year”, adding that “correcting those errors would negate the economic benefits” of the policy.
Reuters: “Trump administration officials are working on a deal to secure long-term access to a portion of Venezuela’s ‌crude reserves, sources with knowledge of the negotiations said on Thursday, a move that could ultimately lower the cost of oil imports.”
The Guardian: “The largest planned AI data centre in New Jersey is being accused of violating federal law after a visual investigation found the site running dozens of unpermitted gas-powered generators.”
The Washington Post reports that “the Trump administration’s latest deal to cancel offshore wind projects and boost fossil-fuel energy development instead is generating a huge payday for one of the president’s million-dollar donors”.
The New York Times reports that “this month, new rules went into effect that require coaches and band directors to closely monitor the wet bulb globe temperature” in Texas.

Comment

The Guardian view on the Nepal-Tibet floods: prepare for more climate-linked disasters

Editorial, The Guardian

The Guardian has an editorial on the “disaster” that hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. It reports that 360 people have been confirmed dead, while some of the worst-affected areas are “still cut off and accessible only by helicopter”. It continues: “As with other disasters that are widely recognised to be climate-related, it is unwise to jump too swiftly to conclusions…But already, multiple glaciologists and other earth scientists have pointed to global heating as a crucial destabilising factor.” It concludes: “Disaster preparedness should be prioritised at a national level and in aid budgets so that agencies are better equipped to react.” Separately, Carbon Brief contributing editor Bethan Davies writes for AntarcticGlaciers.org: “It is clear that we should expect to continue to experience such catastrophic events as these in coming years.”

MORE COMMENT

The Guardian has an editorial under the headline “vulnerable households need help with their bills”, which argues that “an overly bill-focused approach to green investment helps those seeking to present net-zero as the problem rather than the solution”.
Angela Eagle, the UK’s secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, writes in the Guardian: “Adapting to our changing climate demands sustained attention, effort and investment. Others may simply deny the problem or stick their heads in the sand, but this government will rise to the challenge.”
MP Alistair Carmichael writes in the Scotsman that “denying communities a voice over windfarms risks killing progress on net-zero”.
James Moore, the Independent’s chief business commentator, says: “With energy prices exploding, the plug-in solar panel’s time has come”.
Climate-sceptic Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn has an article headlined: “The climate emergency is over – here comes the rain”.
The Daily Telegraph’s assistant editor, Jeremy Warner, writes that “the North Sea has all but been closed down while years of muddle in energy policy have given us some of the highest energy prices in the world, ensuring multiple closures in downstream industries”.

Research

Nearly 90% of 57 selected surf breaks – each one a part of a World Surfing Reserve site – are at medium or high risk of disturbance due to climate change | Climatic Change
Eastern Pacific temperature swings – associated with El Niño events – have intensified by 36% over the past four decades, a 1,000-year palaeoclimate record from fossilised corals in the Galápagos shows | Science
People who participated in a “greenwashing” training are more likely to correctly identify advertisements that employ greenwashing techniques – but are also inclined to overgeneralise their scepticism | Journal of Environmental Psychology