Time to return to the drawing board

We must rethink our development approach by prioritising smaller and decentralised infrastructure.

Nepal’s Himalayas are getting hotter, drier and wetter simultaneously, as depicted by recent events. Supraglacial lake bursts and possible glacier collapse in Humla , Mustang and Rasuwa suggest rising temperatures in the high mountains, while Madhesh, the country’s breadbasket, is officially drought-stricken due to an acute lack of rain even in the midst of monsoon. Concurrently, Dhangadi, in the far west, faced severe flooding with 213 mm of rain measured in 24 hours. The unfolding events have profound and, worryingly, long-term implications for the stability of our economy and livelihoods.