Nepal and India signed a 25-year energy trade deal during Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Nepal on Thursday under which Nepal will export 10,000MW of electricity to India over the next 10 years.
Former Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, who was among the officials involved in drafting the deal on behalf of Nepal, says the agreement is a blueprint for bilateral electricity trade that has significant implications for Nepal in the long term.
“This agreement has ensured that electricity produced in Nepal will get a market in India, thus giving investors confidence that India will buy Nepal’s electricity,” Ghimire adds.
Some have compared this to how India’s investment in power export projects in Bhutan have raised that country’s living standards, giving it the second highest GDP per capita in South Asia.&nbsp;
However, critics say India is behind like a colonial power and exploiting Nepal’s main resource for its own benefit not for electricity but to regulate the waters of the tributaries of the Ganges that flow down from Nepal.
The 10,000MW electricity to be exported within the next decade will also include power generated from India-constructed and supported projects, something that has caused experts to question whether the agreement will ultimately apply exclusively to electricity exported from current and future Indian hydropower projects in Nepal.&nbsp;
Two Indian state-owned companies, SVJN and NHPC, are currently involved in projects with a combined capacity of 4,600MW across Nepal. Meanwhile, India has been lobbying to construct more hydropower infrastructure, which could mean that 80% of the electricity exported under the bilateral agreement in the next 10 years will come from India-supported projects.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">Missing pieces of the hydropower jigsaw</a>, Sonia Awale&nbsp;
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) says that Nepal’s electricity generation capacity has exceeded 2,800MW, of which nearly 50% is consumed domestically. Although the NEA has been taking initiatives to export surplus power during the monsoon to India, the country has adopted a selective policy in regard to buying electricity from Nepal.
For instance, India has declared that it will not purchase electricity from projects that have Chinese and Pakistani involvement. That includes the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi project, which although built on Nepal’s investment had Chinese contractors from the company Sino Hydro.&nbsp;
In October 2021, the NEA received permission to sell 39MW of electricity at a competitive rate in the IEX, the Indian energy exchange market. India has to date increased that limit to 657MW, out of which Nepal exports 547MW to India's competitive market and 110MW falls under a medium-term bilateral export deal.
However, India-imposed quotas on power purchases have meant that more than 600MW worth of electricity goes to waste annually during the monsoon in Nepal.
Other critics say that the long-term power trade agreement has further deepened Nepal’s political dependence on India, and established an Indian monopoly over Nepal’s water resources.&nbsp;
Indeed, the agreement has made it clear that the trade will only involve hydropower projects with 'bilateral benefit’, which means that hydropower projects built with Chinese involvement will not find a market in India.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-nepal-ignore-climate-crisis-in-river-talks">India, Nepal ignore climate crisis in river talks</a>, Ramesh Bhushal
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This is in line with India's Conduct of Business Rule (CBR) issued in February 2021, under which the country will not import electricity from neighbouring countries that do not have an energy trade agreement.&nbsp;
Nepal does not have ongoing hydropower projects where Pakistan is involved, but India’s stance has resulted in numerous Chinese investors and contractors reconsidering their involvement in Nepal’s hydropower projects.&nbsp;
Former Energy Secretary Ghimire says government officials have continuously been raising questions about its policy on not purchasing electricity from Chinese-supported projects, adding that he is hopeful India will change current restrictions regarding China-supported and built projects in Nepal.&nbsp;
The country’s commitment to green energy is an important bargaining chip for Nepal, Ghimire notes. “Nepal needs to recognise India’s commitments towards renewable energy and formulate strategies accordingly to persuade Indian authorities to review their current policies,” he explains.
Krishna Acharya, former president of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN), says that the current agreement is encouraging, but that Nepal needs to work quickly on its own policies related to power generation to support the deal.
“If Nepal’s private sector were to be allowed to enter the electricity business, there would be a lot less uncertainty in the market,” says Acharya.&nbsp;
NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising is optimistic that India will be more lenient with its terms and conditions in the future.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">The geopolitics of Nepal’s water and electricity</a>, Ramesh Kumar
"The current agreement is historic, and we have to do our bit to make sure we implement it properly," he says, “we have to continue efforts to increase our exports beyond 10,000MW in the future.”
Nepal’s government has formulated an energy development strategy with a target of generating a total of 28,000MW of electricity within the next 12 years, out of which 13,000MW will be for domestic consumption and 15,000MW for export to other countries including India.
Also during the visit, India increased its assistance through High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) to Rs200 million, up from Rs50 million. Earlier known as small development projects, HICDP started with Rs30 in 2003 and was later increased to Rs50 million when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister.
While HICDP can help Nepal implement crucial development projects at the local levels, it will be entirely up to India to choose who and what to fund.
Under HICDP, local governments and NGOs can apply for assistance directly but as per the directive rural municipalities and municipalities should chip in 5% and 10% as counterpart funds. But even that is not binding.
Even so, such cooperation is contrary to Nepal's Constitution and federal policy on international cooperation. Taking such assistance without formally notifying the federal government is a 'red carpet' for foreign interference, critics say. Civil society members have called the deal non-transparent which is bound to weaken Nepal’s sovereignty.
Nepal’s Energy Secretary Gopal Sigdel and his Indian counterpart Pankaj Agrawal signed the agreement on behalf of the two countries.
The long-term bilateral agreement was first announced during Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India last May and was officially endorsed by India’s Council of Ministers in September.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-india-power-play">Nepal-India power play</a>, Ramesh Kumar

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Blueprint for Nepal-India electricity trade

This June, monsoon rains brought freak floods to the mountains of Nepal while parts of the plains reeled from a severe water shortage. This has always been the story of the Himalaya: either too much water or too little. This contrast is now aggravated by the impact of the climate crisis. While flash floods ravaged eastern Nepal, destroying hydropower plants, wells dried out in the Tarai on the border with India amidst a prolonged drought affecting rice planting. The water table on both sides of the border has been going down due to over-extraction by deep tube wells as well as the destruction of the groundwater recharge areas of the Chure Range, the southernmost foothills of the Himalaya. The Chure is being ravaged by quarries, deforestation and population growth. However, this transboundary water crisis is absent from bilateral negotiations on river sharing between India and Nepal. Nepali Times columnist Chandra Kishore was the first to draw attention to the seriousness of the water crisis. He wrote in a page 1 report in this newspaper on 28 July: ‘The climate crisis is a water crisis, and access to water used to be determined by who bore deep wells for water. But even those with pumps do not have water, and the worst hit are the poorest families.’ Chandra Kishore has taken to social media to express his frustration that these important issues never seem to be on the political agenda in India or Nepal, and even less in conversations between the two governments. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/grain-drain">Grain drain</a>, Chandra Kishore “Kathmandu listens a bit but doesn’t act, since the leadership is too busy dealing with India on how to stay on in power,” he says. “And Bihar’s voice rarely reaches Delhi.” The Indian state is currently governed by a party opposed to the BJP that rules India. Chandra Kishore’s frustration speaks to a wider failure by the Nepali government to prioritise domestic problems — from changes in the Himalayan water cycle and ecological destruction to a shortage of electricity grids – if they complicate or threaten economic ties with India. Up to 70% of the annual water flow in the Ganges River comes down from tributaries in Nepal — most of that in the four monsoon months. These Himalayan rivers are central to the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens in India and Nepal. Poor water management in both countries with poorly designed flood control embankments and infrastructure, insufficient groundwater recharge, and over-pumping have worsened the effect of weather extremes due to the climate crisis. Despite these factors, high-profile bilateral discussions between India and Nepal usually overlook climate change and other environmental concerns. In 2014, the countries jointly issued a 35-point press release on Narendra Modi’s first prime ministerial visit to Nepal that did not even mention climate change. During the next four visits Modi has made, the climate crisis has never come up.&nbsp; Rather than talking about the vulnerabilities of their shared river systems, India and Nepal use these meetings solely to explore the potential to generate hydropower. Hydro-electricity makes up 96% of Nepal’s installed electricity capacity, and exporting power to India could help Nepal reduce its trade deficit. During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India in June, a long-term energy trade agreement was finalised. Prime Minister Modi confirmed in a joint press conference that India would import 10,000MW of electricity in the next decade. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/balance-of-power">Balance of Power</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023082519080_fddd55cd2af19d62b216471a41a205703cfb10869e98c84b98e2c17dc38846fa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023082519080_fddd55cd2af19d62b216471a41a205703cfb10869e98c84b98e2c17dc38846fa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dam site of Upper Karnali hydropower "> <figcaption>Dam site of Upper Karnali hydropower (900MW) in Daab in Dailekh district. The Indian company GMR is in the final stage to start construction of the project.</figcaption> </figure>  Experts say that India’s main concern is not electricity but water, and its planners are fully aware of the impact climate change will have on future water availability. But Indian officials hide the real agenda by talking only about electricity. Nepal’s former water resources minister Dipak Gyawali told The Third Pole: “To India, climate change is a foreign agenda and for Nepal, it’s something to talk about to be nice, especially with western countries.” While Nepal negotiates with India to try to export more hydroelectricity, many within Nepal do not have adequate or reliable supply of power. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been trying to unsuccessfully increase domestic consumption, and one reason is frequent power cuts even during the monsoon. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) spokesperson Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai says the installed hydropower generation in the rainy season is 2,800MW, while peak demand hovers at 1,800MW. There is surplus power, but there are not enough transmission lines to evacuate power. Energy experts say there has been too much focus on electricity generation and not enough on transmission lines. Says former head of NEA Mukesh Kafle: “As a result, several hydro projects haven’t been able to dispatch generated energy to the grid and, with increasing demand, local distributions systems aren’t able to handle the load.”&nbsp; Most of Nepal’s hydropower is generated by private investors, and one such is the Super Dordi in Lamjung district. The Dordi River is in full spate because of heavy rains this month, but the scheme with an installed capacity of 54MW is only generating 10MW.&nbsp; Says Super Dordi’s Ganesh Karki: “If we had a transmission line, we could run at full capacity.” The reason for power outages this monsoon is not because there is not enough electricity, but because inadequate transmission lines means the power generated cannot be distributed to the load centres, leading to frequent tripping. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-india-power-play">Nepal-India power play</a>, Ramesh Kumar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023082519080_446338cad11f4dedee1be6949aa3b422c0c31b6abda6b84f12abdb2a2bb1f9a2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023082519080_446338cad11f4dedee1be6949aa3b422c0c31b6abda6b84f12abdb2a2bb1f9a2" data-rendition-name="original" width="897" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower graph"> </figure>  Addition of vital transmission lines was held up because of the delays in the ratification of the US-funded MCC scheme, as well as local obstruction to putting up poles and obtaining necessary permits to clear forests. “The outages are going to get worse if things remain the same,” the NEA’s Bhattarai warned.&nbsp; The Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) would prefer to sell power domestically, but since it is difficult to increase power demand within Nepal and meet it with enough transmission lines, exporting to India is the only option. Nepal’s Department of Electricity Development has issued 241 construction licenses for generating more than 8,820MW. And there are hydropower construction applications awaiting approval that would generate more than 8,680MW. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources, Energy and Irrigation is working on a 10-year national hydropower strategy, but says it is not yet ready to share details. Not everybody is as excited about selling electricity to India. Gyawali thinks such interest in Nepali hydropower is being driven not by market forces, but by the Indian government’s wish to exercise strategic control over Nepal. India only imports hydroelectricity from Nepal that does not have Chinese investment or involvement. Indian companies have replaced China as the country’s principal investors in the hydropower sector. India is now involved in projects generating 4,000MW and a further 1,100MW was signed off between Dahal and Modi in June. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">The geopolitics of Nepal’s water and electricity</a>, Ramesh Kumar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023082519080_d02f8ca4827333387eeda9e6b08170f6224d166be3de89decd8e6c9e9316cdcc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023082519080_d02f8ca4827333387eeda9e6b08170f6224d166be3de89decd8e6c9e9316cdcc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1266" height="856" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower graph"> </figure>  River conservationists are also worried about the domestic cost of developing hydroelectricity for India. Megh Ale, president of the Nepal River Conservation Trust, says: “Imagine what will happen to these rivers if you just think about electricity. In the last two decades, we have dammed almost all our major river systems except the Karnali. We should also think about ecology and ecosystems while not undermining the need for electricity. The current madness will be costly.” Several studies have warned that Nepal’s dams have already impacted aquatic biodiversity. A study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2018 says: ‘Damming of rivers has had huge environmental costs with serious and irreversible impacts, including a rapid decline in the population of many fish species.’ Basanta Raj Adhikari, the director of Tribhuvan University’s Centre for Disaster Studies says that Indian investment in Nepali hydropower is reason enough to take climate change into account: “It is going to impact India’s own investment. Extreme rainfall in June in the hills of eastern Nepal washed away several hydro projects.” The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) in Kathmandu released a report in June on transboundary rivers that originate in the Chure Range. It highlights that the various Nepali-Indian agreements governing these rivers are obsolete and do not cover sustainable water management, participation, or recognise emerging risks. “It’s basically an underestimation of the scale of the problem,” says Ajaya Dixit of ISET.&nbsp; A June 2023 study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu says the availability of water in the Himalaya is expected to peak in mid-century, driven by accelerated glacial melt, after which it is projected to decline. It is not just Nepal, where the impacts of the climate crisis are being felt. This month’s devastating floods in northern India could also be a sign of worse to come. Climate change is going to have a geo-strategic impact because of how it will affect our rivers. But so far, the concern of experts and scientists is not reflected in bilateral and regional consultations on river sharing. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-precious-electricity-going-waste">Nepal’s precious electricity going waste</a>, Anita Bhetwal This version of the piece was originally published on The Third Pole under the Creative Commons license, and was written by Ramesh Bhushal, Nepal Editor at The Third Pole.

India, Nepal ignore climate crisis in river talks

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233e79c7e80680e0c4906jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="853" height="640"/><figcaption>The damage to the channel diverting water from the Melamchi to the tunnel at the project headwork. The debris here is 20m deep. Photo: SHIVA BASKOTA</figcaption></figure>In June 2021, a massive debris flow on the Melamchi River killed at least 30 people, submerged settlements, and nearly destroyed Nepal’s biggest infrastructure project to supply water to Kathmandu.Scientists blamed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">the climate crisis</a>. A wall of mud raced down the river after unprecedented rainfall at the beginning of the monsoon on glacial deposits left by melted ice.Boulders and mud paste buried the headworks of Melamchi Water Supply Project under 20m of debris, resulting in damage worth more than Rs2 billion. Timely closure of the gate saved the project’s 26km tunnel to Kathmandu from irreversible damage.“Melamchi project cost $800 million and nearly 25 years to complete, but it took just one weather event to render it nearly useless,” says water expert Madhukar Upadhyay. “It only goes on to prove that our landscape is not suitable for large infrastructure projects. And now we have climate change in the mix.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233eb9c7e80680e0c4907jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s only reservoir project on the Kulekhani was commissioned in 1982 and was supposed to have a lifespan of 100 years. But a cloudburst in the catchment area in 1993 deposited so much debris into its lake that the cascade project that generates 106MW of electricity will now function for only another 30 years.The Himalayan mountains are warming between 0.3 to 0.7°C faster than the global average, and a report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) predicted that even in the best-case scenario, more than one-third of the remaining ice will melt during this century. If current global heating trends continue, two-thirds of the ice will be gone.Meltwater from Himalayan glaciers collect behind fragile moraine dams, increasing the threat of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)</a> that can wash away infrastructure: hydropower plants, highways, bridges and canals.As it is, many of these projects have either ignored or falsified their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). They are built along rivers that have not been properly assessed for extreme weather.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233ee9c7e80680e0c4908jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">A paper last month in the journal Nature Geoscience titled ‘High Mountain Asia hydropower systems threatened by climate-driven landscape instability’ has a checklist to minimise climate-driven hazards on Himalayan infrastructure.‘Maps of the distribution of paraglacial zones, sediment yield and hazard susceptibility that better delineate current and future unstable landscapes and erosion-prone regions should be produced,’ states the paper. ‘Policy development regarding maintaining existing and planning of new hydropower projects should be guided by such hazard and risk maps.’Researchers point out that storage capacity design <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/">should consider potential storage losses</a> associated with increasing sediment loads due to climate change, and provide additional storage, sediment bypassing, sluicing, dredging and drawdown flushing to minimise sedimentation and increase reservoir lifespans.Catchment management can reduce slope instability and erosion rates with reforestation and check dams. ‘For existing reservoirs, a reassessment of sediment management solutions aimed at enhancing sustainable sediment management is recommended,’ the Nature Geoscience paper states.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233f19c7e80680e0c4909jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Upadhyay agrees: “The first thing is to study and assess the area before the start of the project. In case they are already functioning, we have to monitor how they are affected, which will give us insights into future weather patterns. But most importantly, we need localised forecasts.”Indeed, the paper also recommends monitoring, forecasting and early-warning systems to be developed and implemented. ‘Strategically oriented monitoring networks that measure high-altitude climate, glacier and permafrost dynamics, glacial lakes, unstable slopes and water and sediment fluxes should be expanded for high-risk areas,’ it adds. Nepal has either too much or too little water. Seasonal floods and the weather extremes here predate climate change. Other disasters not related to climate, such as earthquakes, multiply the risk for infrastructure.And yet, there is no proper mechanism even to assess loss and damage post-disaster which is ironic given Nepal’s strong stance on climate justice at international climate conferences.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233f49c7e80680e0c490ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1231" height="603"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Loss and damage as an issue has been highly politicised, but it is also rooted in climate justice, and what we are experiencing today is a cumulative impact of the last 150 years,” explains climate scientist Ajaya Dixit. “Nepal must continue to be a part of this discourse, but we must also do our bit. We must not just lobby for funds but also for support and partnerships to actively address changes due to the climate.”Nepal’s current response to climate disasters is limited to search, rescue and relief. Mitigating and adapting to risk, for example by reducing the level of glacial lakes such as Imja and Two Rolpa, are dependent on funding.Nepal now has better standardised data through the BIPAD portal under the National Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Authority (NDRRMA). The next step is to map hazards, prioritise infrastructure and people most at risk through local first responders.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233f69c7e80680e0c490bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="857" height="500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Adds Dixit: “We need a large-scale systemic change to adapt to the climate crisis but for now we can start with developing and implementing a robust assessing mechanism. And it is unacceptable that our infrastructure still follows designs, methods and metrics from the time when climate change was not even in our vocabulary.”Such is Nepal’s hydropower potential that it has provided it geopolitical leverage. India is increasingly expanding its investment on Nepal’s rivers, and building large reservoir projects. Chinese companies are building hydropower projects directly downstream from high-risk glacial lakes in Tibet.Climate disasters raise the issue of a cross-border risk, since many of Nepal’s start in China, where there are many glacial lakes that are at bursting point. GLOFs originating in China have in the past destroyed highways and hydropower projects on the Bhote Kosi.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233f99c7e80680e0c490cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1013" height="562"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Research by Chinese scientists on the Nyainqêntanglha mountains on the Tibetan Plateau even five years ago showed that the frequency of destructive GLOFs were increasing, and they proposed urgent mitigation measures.‘Potential damage from GLOF disasters is significant,’ wrote Shijin Wang and Lanyue Zhou in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13753-017-0152-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Journal of Disaster Risk Science</a>, ‘There is an urgent need for (Chinese) government departments to implement engineering measures on all potentially dangerous glacial lakes.’Nepal is increasingly reliant on selling its surplus electricity to India. Power generation in the monsoon exceeds 2,100MW even as average domestic demand stands at just 1,550 MW. Another 2,500MW of electricity will be added to the grid in the next two years, while 3,000MW of new projects are in the pipeline.But these projections are at the mercy of future climate-induced risk. Says Upadhyay: “If hydropower is indeed our future, we must treat it with that kind of seriousness and commitment. We must bring in experts who think not only in monetary terms, but holistically at how the climate crisis is changing the Himalayan landscape.”Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/">Climate risk to hydropower investment</a>, Ajaya Dixit

Sonia Awale

Climate-smarter Himalayan infrastructure

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84239c7e80680e06777ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1037"/><figcaption>A view of the project from across the Langtang Valley showing the receding Langtang Lirung Glacier, and the location of the intake, penstock and powerhouse. There is a drop of 300m, and the turbines generate 100kW of electricity. Photos: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>From the edge of the terminal moraine of the Langtang Lirung Glacier, there is a 360 degree view of icy peaks, and below is the monastery town of Kyanjin blanketed in overnight snow.Towering above is Langtang Lirung with snow being blown off its 7,227m summit, with the jagged peaks of Kimshun standing like bodyguards with Tserko Ri, Yala Peak and Gang Chhenpo. And to the south is the rampart of the Naya Kanga ridge.“When I was a boy we brought the yaks up here to graze, and they could cross the ice from one side of the glacier to the other,” says Gyalbu Tamang. “This lake was formed only in the last 20 years.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84269c7e80680e06777bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As climate change thaws the mountains, right across the eastern Himalaya in Nepal, Bhutan and southern Tibet, hundreds of new lakes have formed at the snouts of glaciers. Some have found outlets and emptied themselves, while others, like this one, swelled up dangerously.In the past 40 years, there have been 26 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/">glacial lake outburst floods on Nepal’s rivers</a>, and with newer and bigger lakes forming, they pose a serious risk to new roads, settlements and hydropower plants downstream.However, glacial lakes do not just need to be a threat, as has been shown by a unique project on the Langtang Lirung Glacier. This glacial lake at 4,100m is being drained to lower its level, and the water is used to generate electricity.The Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation. The $534,000 scheme has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity, providing 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.The project is a first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village, and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated, while at the same time providing electricity to tourism-dependent families.“It can be a plus-plus, you need to simply drive a glacial lake to turn a turbine while simultaneously lowering the water level and reducing the pressure on the moraine dam,” says energy economist and former Water Resource Minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/finding-the-nexus-between-water-food-and-energy/">Dipak Gyawali.</a>The only downside would be that most glacial lakes are at very high elevations where there are few settlements, and also the greater cost of transporting equipment by helicopter. But if the risk-reduction from glacial lake outburst floods is factored in, these multi-purpose projects would be cost-effective.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b842a9c7e80680e06777cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1125" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b842d9c7e80680e06777djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="938"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84309c7e80680e06777ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There are other dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal like <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Diverting-danger,3172">Imja</a> in the Everest region and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/">Tso Rolpa</a> in Rolwaling Valley, where the water level has been lowered at enormous cost, but the schemes have not added the hydropower component. Tso Rolpa had a small power unit to supply electricity to the project, but it is not in use. Imja was financed by the UNDP with funding from the Global Environment Facility, while Tso Rolpa was funded by the Dutch government.Glacial lakes have been used to generate power in the Peruvian Andes, and in the Swiss Alps existing reservoirs filled with glacial melt have been generating 4% more electricity because of accelerated melting. The Swiss are even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/17/climate/switzerland-glaciers-climate-change.html">mapping future hydropower plants</a> on glaciers for a time when all the ice will be gone. In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2185.pdf?origin=ppub">Bhutan, a pilot scheme</a> on a glacial lake at 4,200m is trying to lower the water level using siphons, and plans to also see if it is feasible to generate electricity.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84349c7e80680e06777fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="689"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Experts say that with a little more investment, the moraine dams on glacial lakes can be strengthened for a fraction of a cost of building a new artificial dam for electricity generation. For this, the Langtang Microhydro Project presents a working model for other glacial lakes in Nepal where there are plans to lower the water level."In previous decades it used to be expensive to build power plants on glacial lakes because they were so remote, but now that roads have reached many valleys, they are more feasible," says glaciologist Pradeep Mool.Gyalbu Tamang lost his parents and many relatives in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/">catastrophic earthquake-avalanche in 2015</a> that killed as many as 300 people in Langtang. But for him and other trekking lodge owners who used to depend on solar panels, the 24-hour electricity has transformed the quality of life.He says: “We can charge our phones, use appliances, the children can read at night, it is like living in a city.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">DANGER: Nepal’s glacial lakes are filling up</a>, Nepali Times

Kunda Dixit

Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake

<figure><img width="1050" height="655" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4659c7e80680e073666jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Prime Minister K P Oli launching the sale of shares for the Trisuli B hydroelectric project in March 2019, the first in the government’s Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative. Energy Minister Barshaman Pun is on the right. Photo: PMO</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s hydropower sector, already stymied <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-hydroelectricity-sector-gets-covid-19-shock/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAEegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0B_tYwmRm1tHBUVUnLifjc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-hydroelectricity-sector-gets-covid-19-shock/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAEegQIAxAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw0B_tYwmRm1tHBUVUnLifjc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMkbfjV65U5ipi9fjYZ4myWul1Bg">by decades of construction delays </a>and budget constraints, is seeing its flagship Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative pushed back further due to this year’s destructive monsoon rains and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.The initiative was part of the government’s ambitious masterplan to generate 15,000MW in ten years from 21 hydroelectric projects, and raise the income of Nepali shareholders in the process.“Nepal will have an energy surplus and see its economy grow, while the projects will bring the public quick rewards and allow them to prosper as well,” said the Energy Minister while launching the initiative in March last year.  <figure><img width="1500" height="839" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4689c7e80680e073667jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Some of the proposed projects under the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment which will offer shares to the public to invest in: 1st row, left-right: Ghunsa Khola (72MW), Simbuwa Khola (70MW), Tamakosi-5 (96MW) Upper Trisuli 3-B (27MW). 2nd Row: Kimathangka Arun (482MW), Upper Arun (725MW), Ikhuwa (30MW), Arun 4 (372MW) 3rd row: Budi Gandaki Gwar Khola (60MW), Budi Gandaki Prok 1 (100MW), Budi Gandaki Prok 2 (240MW) Budi Gandaki A (75MW)</figcaption></figure>It was a bold target and a challenging task to sell shares to the public, but it was an attempt to make up for lost time on power projects delayed by the 2015 earthquake and the Indian Blockade. However, no one could have predicted that the country would face an even more serious crisis this year with the global pandemic.While landslides and flash floods this monsoon as well as the COVID-19 lockdown have taken a year off construction schedules, the global economic downturn is also expected to reduce the public's ability to invest in shares and attract foreign joint ventures in the hydropower projects. Even so, CEO Chhabiraj Pokharel of the Hydropower Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) says the plan is to start construction on all 21 projects in the next four years so as to meet the intrim target of generating 3,500MW in five years.Despite his optimism, only one of the projects, the Upper Trisuli-3 (60MW), which went into operation in November, has been commissioned in the past year-and-half since the initiative was launched amidst much fanfare by Prime Minister Oli.The 111MW Rasuwagadi and 57MW Upper Sanjen are nearing completion, and have released shares to employees. Another project is halfway, but the other 14 have not gotten off the ground.  <figure><img width="1631" height="550" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba46b9c7e80680e073668jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Rasuwagadhi Project site (111MW) on the Trisuli River, where construction has begun. </figcaption></figure>Even though many of these projects were delayed due to existing bureaucratic and technical hurdles, the government is blaming the COVID-19 crisis. Says Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, convenor of the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative: “All the projects had been pushed back by six months already due to the COVID-19 crisis, and another six months because of the rainy season.”Nevertheless, the government’s plan is to begin construction on Upper Arun (725MW), Kimathangka Arun (482MW), Phukot Karnali (492MW), Tamakosi-5 (96MW), Chainpur Seti (201MW), and Jagadulla (157MW) as soon as the monsoon is over. Of these, Tamakosi-5 is putting shares up for sale to the public, now that its engineering and design work is complete. The modalities for the Rs33 billion Bheri-Babai Diversion Multipurpose Program are also complete. This project will irrigate 51,000ha in the eastern Tarai, while also generating 48.6MW of electricity. Five percent of the shares of this project will be open to local people, Karnali provincial government will have 20%, the project itself will have 26%, and the central government will have majority shares of 49%.  <figure><img width="1500" height="834" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba46e9c7e80680e073669jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Bheri-Babai tunnel that will irrigate 51,000ha in the western Tarai, and generate 48MW of electricity.</figcaption></figure>The government’s plan is that 51% of the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative will be funded by the government, while 49% will have the public’s investment. Of this, 70% will be loan financed, while 30% will be paid for by investment in equities. Of that 30%, a little more than half will be bought up by the government while 49% will be public.Government agencies are also being directed to allocate funds for the initiative. The Employees’ Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Fund, HIDCL, Nepal Telecom, National Insurance Institute, Nepal Police, Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force have all been directed to invest Rs1-6 billion per year in the initiative. The total cost of the 21 projects is estimated to exceed Rs700 billion -- which is equal to more than half the annual national budget of Nepal. Banks and financial institutions have a 10% ceiling on hydropower investment in their total portfolio, and this is enough to only fund 50MW production every year. This means the most serious obstacle to the initiative will now be the funding crunch. This has been exacerbated by the fall in government revenue due to the pandemic, as seen in this<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-unveils-covid-19-budget/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAFegQIARAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0IyIrqaRrWGvlcvL74WQUS" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-unveils-covid-19-budget/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAFegQIARAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw0IyIrqaRrWGvlcvL74WQUS&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF97_uq5VhqvzbTa4EA79zdsQsuyQ"> fiscal year’s budget.</a> The government could rely on foreign loans and multilateral creditors, but they are also affected by the global recession.Normal hydropower regulations only allow for shares to be released once construction is half-complete. Under the provisions of the initiative, shares and IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) can be released once 10% of project funding is used.  <figure><img width="600" height="677" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4759c7e80680e07366ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Construction site of the Upper Trisuli 3B (37MW), one of the projects delayed by the COVID-19 lockdown.</figcaption></figure>Convenor Bhetuwal says construction of the 21 hydropower projects were deliberately staggered, keeping in mind the rise in nationwide energy demand. He adds: “Generating 3,500MW at once will lead to a glut in the market, may overwhelm consumers and waste energy, that is why projects are going into production in a phase-wise manner.” This is a legitimate concern, because national demand for electricity has dropped during he lockdown, prompting Nepal Electricity Authority Director Kul Man Ghising to call out the government on its U-turn on encouraging demand for electricity consumption, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjm3tT5g__qAhWd8HMBHRiHBzkQFjAAegQIBRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1WVWH_378BaBmM7FzPie46" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjm3tT5g__qAhWd8HMBHRiHBzkQFjAAegQIBRAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw1WVWH_378BaBmM7FzPie46&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHFj7LD-yfyCCJ0ZeVWqLFX6NH2zw">including a hike on e-vehicle taxes. </a>

Generating electricity (and cash) for Nepalis

<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://unfccc.int/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change</a> was agreed in 1992 to deal with the increasing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. In 1992, carbon dioxide concentrations had reached 356 parts per million (ppm) compared to 286 ppm in the 1850s. Today, with 411 ppm of CO2, the world faces a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate emergency</a>. Despite advances in renewable energy technology, fossil fuel use has continued to rise and emissions are still growing. Meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals, agreed to in 2015, appears increasingly hard.Higher heat in the atmosphere due to increasing concentration of CO2 has made the global hydrological cycle erratic, including over the Himalaya region. Seasonal rainfall patterns are significantly different than in the past. Local farmers already speak of having to adjust to rainfall regimes that differ completely from their past experiences. And this is only part of the story complicating water management.Over the last 150 years, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dam-it-its-all-about-the-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reservoirs, dams and barrages that divert water</a> to farms, cities and industries have significantly altered the natural hydrological cycle. High-capacity pumps also increasingly bring water from very deep aquifers to the surface. Untreated human waste from cities and effluent from industries are dumped into rivers and water bodies. Embankments already constrain the natural flow in many rural areas.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a964f9c7e80680e05dc5ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2250" height="937"/><figcaption>Photo: Alton C Byers</figcaption></figure>But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/act-globally-think-locally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flooding is no longer a rural phenomenon. </a>Haphazard urbanisation blocks streams and rivers. Floods caused by short duration, intense rainfall inundate new areas because existing drainage paths cannot safely discharge them. With 70% of South Asians expected to live in urban areas by 2050, urban flood risks will increase manifold.Climate change-induced impacts exacerbate these development challenges and create a bleak scenario for the future of water. The Himalayan ice and glacier system is a case in point. Examination of satellite images suggests that between 2000 and 2016, eight billion tonnes of ice storage was lost, twice the amount lost between 1975 and 2000.Snowmelt sustains the low flows of the Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali and Mahakali rivers, all of which feed the Ganga. Changes in snowmelt dynamics and the hydrology of the Himalayan system will not only affect downstream water users but also significantly stress existing water-sharing treaties between Nepal and India.Read Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/making-nepal-powerful/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Making Nepal Powerful</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/decentralising-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decentralising (hydro)power,</a>Gyanendra Lal Pradhan<a style="letter-spacing: 0.15px; background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-energy-windfall-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An energy windfall for Nepal?,</a> Kushal GurungEach of these four rivers has a barrage at the Nepal-India border, and Nepal and India have signed river-water treaties that specify the water allocation regime for all of them, except the Karnali. Nonetheless, conflicts between Nepal and India still exist, and could escalate. In Bihar, complaints about the diversion of Ganga waters by upstream barrages are rife. The changes in low flows will extend to the treaty between India and Bangladesh on sharing of the Ganga’s waters.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96529c7e80680e05dc5fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">Changes in rainfall patterns due to climate change over the Nepali midhills and Tarai will also change the hydrology of Nepal’s rain-fed rivers. Drying midhill springs and declines in groundwater tables across the Tarai and valleys due to excessive extraction beyond natural recharge rates will stress the provision of basic water services and make their management more difficult. Though it is unlikely that all Nepali rivers will run dry immediately, seasonal scarcity due to changes in the hydrological regime will significantly increase.The prevailing water paradigm, which focuses on irrigation, hydropower and drinking water in separate silos, prevents the successful management of these developmental and climate-related challenges. The current response to flood management, for example, is not only siloed but also episodic. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Once the monsoon departs in September, we forget about floods</a>. We accord little priority to consideration of the bio-diversity in rivers or to water’s central role in our cultures.Read Also:C<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limate risk to hydropower investment,</a> Ajaya Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reservoirs-of-suspicion/hydropower-geopolitics%20,3991" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reservoirs of suspicion</a>, Om Astha RaiHydropower development and inter-basin water transfer projects dominate the Nepali state’s imagination while ordinary people worry about when the next supply of water will be delivered. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dams-and-dreams-a-journey-down-the-karnali/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The beds and banks of rivers are unscrupulously mined</a> to meet construction industry needs by a nexus of real estate promoters, truck cartels, politicians and bureaucrats.These complex challenges around water will require structural changes and societal level solutions very different from business-as-usual practices. For management of water we need a new social charter that adheres to the following principles as sacrosanct:<ul><li>Water has multiple meanings, uses and users</li> <li>Rivers must have enough clean water in them to sustain biodiversity</li> <li>Rivers need unconstrained space to safely discharge flood water, including in urban areas</li> <li>Waste cycles and hydrological cycles must be different</li> <li>Flowing water has holistic value and is not a waste.</li></ul>Without upholding these principles in all economic and social development activities, it is unlikely that water problems will improve with time. A commitment to their implementation will only be the starting point for balancing competing needs of multiple users of freshwater, conserving its quality and quantity and adapting to the impacts of climate change. When water is scarce, successful adaptation to the climate emergency will be only a mere aspiration. Its realisation will be close to impossible.<article><section data-id="b119978" data-element_type="section">Ajaya Dixit is Executive Director of Kathmandu based ISET-Nepal.        His monthly column Climate for Change in Nepali Times deals with the impact of global warming in Nepal.</section></article>

The Water Emergency

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811118/636a2a939c7e80680e045924jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="316"/><figcaption>Photo: ALTON BYERS</figcaption></figure>In a normal winter, northern India and Nepal get 3-4 westerly disturbances. This year there were 12 frontal systems dumping snow and rain across the country.Kathmandu Valley and surrounding mountains had snowfall <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twice within a month</a> and received 90mm of rain on the night of 26 February alone -- the heaviest ever recorded, and almost five times higher than the monthly average. Rains in other parts of the country were three times higher than the winter average. Earlier lighter snowfalls in Kathmandu were in 1946 and 2007.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-nepal-can-invest-in-improving-the-investment-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Nepal can invest in improving the investment climate</a>, Anil Chitrakar<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-inc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal, Inc.</a>, Suman Joshi<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811118/636a2a959c7e80680e045925png.png" alt="" width="733" height="732">Was this precipitation a natural anomaly, or was it spawned by changes in the global climate? Attributing one unusual weather event to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change is challenging in countries like Nepal</a> which still have significant data gaps and lack climate modeling expertise.However, if this is a new trend, it is a cause for serious concern. Warming caused by a greater concentration of atmospheric carbon is already changing the jet stream and weather patterns that influence climate in different ways, creating a new weather normal.Madan Lal Shrestha is Nepal’s leading climate scientist and says the trend is worrying: “The westerly systems seem to be shifting southward and bringing these anomalies.”The scenario for new snow dynamics projected by Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 assessment</a> and the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) SR 1.5 are equally disturbing. The ICIMOD study suggests that even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C by the end of the century, the Himalayan region will warm by around 1.8°C.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate damage</a>, Editorial Under a 1.5°C scenario, the study says glacier volumes in the Himalaya will decline by 36% by 2100 and under business as usual emissions, by a whopping 64%. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPCC</a> SR 1.5 suggests temperature rise be limited to within 1.5oC by 2030, to avoid a disastrous climate future. But this looks unlikely and the above scenario may become a reality earlier than projected. These change dynamics could already be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">depleting base flow</a> of many of our snow- and rain-fed rivers. Existing and planned hydropower plants in both river types face higher risks.Nepal has a total installed hydropower capacity of about 1,000MW and in 2018 the plants supplied 4,475GWh of hydroelectricity into the Integrated Nepal Power System. New plants under construction will add 3,370MW, and new planned projects will generate an additional 4,562W. These do not include smaller community plants, export projects like Arun II, or storage projects like Budi Gandaki and West Seti.When these are completed, Nepal will have 300 power plants with an installed capacity of 8,932MW. If we assume that each 1MW needs $200,000 worth of investment, these projects will be valued at $18 billion, and could produce about 40,000 GWh of electricity provided the hydrology of rivers, particularly their base flow, does not change.Already, hydropower plants in fragile basins like the Bhote Kosi face floods, landslides like the one in Jure in 2014, the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquakes four years ago</a>, and glacial lake outbursts. As the snow and glaciers melt, energy stored in expanding glacial lakes (like this one on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/high-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barun Glacier</a>, above) could theoretically be harnessed in the future, but these will be technologically complex, the upfront cost prohibitive, and impose high risks to fragile mountain ecosystems.Today, while 86% of Nepalis have access to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electricity</a>, its use in productive sectors of the economy and in creating new jobs is limited. The bulk of the country’s cooking energy still comes from biomass, and the cost of petroleum imports show no signs of slowing.In addition, regulatory oversight is inadequate, and so is compliance to environmental and social safeguards in the development and operation of hydropower plants. Hydropower design use historical rainfall and river flow data, but climate change makes them unreliable to calculate energy performance of power plants. Agencies in Nepal involved in hydropower development <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dams-and-dreams-a-journey-down-the-karnali/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">must assess climate change risks</a>, identify mitigation measures and ensure that projects deliver energy they are designed for.Data sets generated by existing plants in Nepal’s snow-fed and rain-fed rivers can alert us to changes in flow, and in assessing related risks to their energy performance. Generation-mix for a cleaner energy future can offset potential risks of total reliance on water-based energy system vulnerable to climate change. Such a strategy must minimise import of petroleum products by using indigenous hydro and other clean sources, address persistent energy poverty, elevate use of electricity in the economy.In 2006, Economist Nicholas Stern’s <a href="http://mudancasclimaticas.cptec.inpe.br/~rmclima/pdfs/destaques/sternreview_report_complete.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Report on the Economics of Climate Change</a> had warned that the cost of inaction would be far greater for future generations than the costs of action taken today. A decade later he said, “I should have been much stronger in what I said in the report about the costs of inaction. I underplayed the dangers.”Crossing the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.50 C threshold</a> would take us to the danger zone. To remain within that limit, we need to improve governance and institutional accountability with in-built systemic checks and balances to ensure that new climate risks are accounted for and minimised.Ajaya Dixit is Executive Director of Kathmandu based ISET-Nepal. His monthly column Climate for Change in Nepali Times deals with the impact of global warming in Nepal.

Climate risk to hydropower investment

The sudden and massive flood on the Bhote Kosi early Tuesday morning washed away a strategic bridge on Nepal’s main border crossing with China for trade, tourists and pilgrims. Slurry from the nearly 10m high debris flow left 9 dead and 20 missing, 12 of them Nepalis and six Chinese nationals, and 150 others were rescued by helicopter.&nbsp; Four <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">hydropower plants</a> Rasuwagadi, Trisuli III, Trisuli, &nbsp;Benighat and the Trisuli substation sustained heavy damage, knocking &nbsp;out 230MW of Nepal’s power supply – approximately 8% of the total. Over 100 cargo trucks and new electric vehicles parked at &nbsp;Timure Dry Port were swept away. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mapping-kangchenjunga-glacial-flood-risk">Mapping Kangchenjung glacial flood risk</a>, Gabe Allen Officials had initially thought &nbsp;the Bhote Kosi had flooded due to heavy rain in Tibet. However, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) now say a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)</a> is likely.&nbsp; NDRRMA spokesperson Suresh Sunar said it was too early to tell which one, but the flood was most likely the result of one of the glacial lakes in Tibet. Bhote Kosi begins on the north slope of the Ganesh Himal near the Nepal-China border, and its tributary Lende drains the catchment area north of Langtang. The slurry flood on Tuesday was on the Lende (map).&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250709110720_bbc99c5f3e3d61a3d340892e0273fee3605a8d334a2beb354126137bcf0c8d27.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250709110720_bbc99c5f3e3d61a3d340892e0273fee3605a8d334a2beb354126137bcf0c8d27" data-rendition-name="original" width="629" height="759" loading="lazy" alt="Bhote Kosi flood map"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250709110720_39e2f574ff8c12cecda2e5a999d2ba8a0310f599f6b2261dcad7dd43f94df2a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250709110720_39e2f574ff8c12cecda2e5a999d2ba8a0310f599f6b2261dcad7dd43f94df2a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="997" height="613" loading="lazy" alt="Bhote Kosi flood map"> </figure>  “Preliminary study suggest that the disaster was not caused by rain in Tibet, but by a glacial lake burst, or another accident,” said Kamal Ram Joshi of the DHM. The level of water at a self-monitoring station in Timure in Rasuwa increased by 3.5m at 3:10AM on Tuesday morning while 13km downstream in Syabrubesi, the level rose by 3.65m at 3:30AM. The same station recorded 5.37m ten minutes later, after which it stopped giving a reading, possibly because the station was also washed away. The flood reached <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/neither-side-lost-both-sides-won">Betrawati</a> by 5AM, and some of the debris flow reached Mugling during Tuesday. DHM’s Flood Forecasting Division noted that there was no major precipitation in the Bhote Kosi watershed in Nepal and China in the 24 hours preceding the flood.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250708100724_313a684b65fc5317064779e47409a40f2bbce2c0c84db995e7f8fc6e1c142105.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250708100724_313a684b65fc5317064779e47409a40f2bbce2c0c84db995e7f8fc6e1c142105" data-rendition-name="original" width="3600" height="1662" loading="lazy" alt="Bhotekosi flood"> <figcaption>The Miteri bridge before it was swept away by the flood in Bhotekosi on the Nepal-China border. Photo: SUBASH DHUNGANA / RSS</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250708100732_ec43f13bae979f7b61bc0db939db4157dc93d3f0767ed527f564bd5c3d12be27.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250708100732_ec43f13bae979f7b61bc0db939db4157dc93d3f0767ed527f564bd5c3d12be27" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="432" loading="lazy" alt="Bhotekosi flood NT 2"> <figcaption>The bridge after the flood.</figcaption> </figure>  On Wednesday, several remote-sensing experts using Copernicus &nbsp;satellite images pinpointed the cause of the flood to Purepu Cangbu where supraglacial ponds had merged in June to form a large lake which did not burst, but overflowed &nbsp;and found a channel through englacial conduits to the headwaters of the Lende. The river meets the Bhote Kosi at the Nepal-China checkpoint in Rasuwa.&nbsp; “Analysis of weather forecasts and satellite data shows the Tibet region did not receive enough rain to cause this scale of flooding,” explained Binod Pokharel, associate professor of hydrology and meteorology at Tribhuvan University. “The flood could have been caused by a GLOF."&nbsp; Two weeks ago, Chinese officials had reportedly warned the Rasuwa District Administration in Nepal to be on high alert for floods on rivers that originate in Tibet. It could be that Chinese scientists had observed the alarming<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya"> expansion of glacial lakes</a> in the Lende and Bhote Kosi catchments. If that was the case, it is an example of the kind of trans-boundary forewarning that would be critical to save lives in future.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250708100736_1710142917b30d4f85b343ed52743554d723db918c708f0bade8a0491ba999b2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250708100736_1710142917b30d4f85b343ed52743554d723db918c708f0bade8a0491ba999b2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1001" height="500" loading="lazy" alt="Bhotekosi flood"> </figure>  However, Rasuwa’s Assistant Chief District Officer Dhruv Prasad Adhikari seems to have no knowledge of any warning from the Chinese side, either formally or informally. &nbsp; “The Chinese Embassy has said the cause of the flood is unknown that it will coordinate with Nepal to find the cause," Adhikari told us. Chinese Ambassador Chen Song and Prime Minister Oli visited the border on Tuesday (pictured). &nbsp; The sharing of real-time trans-boundary rainfall and river flow data would be crucial in early warning about the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mapping-kangchenjunga-glacial-flood-risk">risk and consequences of GLOFs</a> to reduce human and material loss. But Nepali officials say China has been reluctant to share weather-related information and data not just in this disaster, but in the past as well. “There is no mechanism or system in place for us to obtain hydrological and meteorological data of the Tibetan region,” said DHM Director General Joshi. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-destruction-ice-is-also-great-and-will-suffice">Himalaya is melting twice as fast as the rest of the world</a> due to a phenomenon called ‘elevation dependent warming’, and receding glaciers have led to an increasing number of transboundary GLOFs.&nbsp; According to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/danger-nepal-s-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up">a 2018 ICIMOD study</a>, of the 47 of the most dangerous lakes that threaten Nepal, 25 are on glaciers in China, 21 in Nepal and one in India. Many of these glaciers are expanding rapidly due to global warming. One of the authors of the report, glacial lake expert Samjwal Bajracharya, says that the report was prepared based on data from 2015. But climate change has accelerated since then. Moreover, seismic activity has further destabilises the landscape, adding to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-glacial-lakes-in-danger-of-bursting">GLOF risk</a>.&nbsp; “Considering the rapid rate of snowmelt and consequent increase in size of Himalayan glaciers, studies should be conducted every year, and a monitoring system should be set up on the glaciers,” says Bajracharya. “However, no studies have been conducted in the Himalaya in a decade, which has been our biggest weakness.” &nbsp;

Rasuwa flood likely a GLOF

The news headlines this week said: ‘The House of Representatives passed the Nepal Citizenship (Second Amendment) Bill that now makes <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-unequal-citizenship-law">acquiring citizenship through the mother</a> as equal as through the father.’&nbsp;
Could it really be true? There is genuine confusion or deliberate misunderstanding in the public about the Bill. Here is an explainer:
What is the Bill?
The Second Amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 was tabled by the government on 11 March, 2024. The lengthy list of amendments underwent a detailed discussion within the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the HoR which presented a shortened list of agreed amendments.&nbsp;
The HoR passed this amended list of amendments on 28 June. While the original Bill contained eight amendment proposals, only three major amendments were presented by the Committee, and approved by the HoR.
Has it become law now?
No. It is yet to be passed by the National Assembly and endorsed by the President.
What exactly is contained in the amendments?&nbsp;
<ol>
 <li>Addition to Section 5 of the Act: ‘For citizenship applications, a father’s identity is deemed unknown if the applicant and their mother both provide a self-declaration stating that the father is unidentified, as per Section 5, even if his name is listed on the person’s birth registration, educational qualifications, or other certificates, yet his other identity is not available and is currently out of contact.’</li>
</ol>
This simply provides a definition to what the Act means by ‘father unidentified’ or ‘father untraceable’. Section 5 derives its authority from Article 11(5) of the Constitution that grants citizenship by descent to children whose mother is a Nepali citizen, but father is unidentified or untraceable.&nbsp;
The Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 and Regulation 2006 (both promulgated prior to the present 2015 Constitution) was amended in 2023 to incorporate the provisions of the new Constitution. In doing so, it included the procedural rule requiring both the applicant and their mother to sign a self-declaration form.
The result: a lot of people who claimed citizenship under this provision were still denied access, simply because their educational or other documents mentioned the name or address or some information about their father. The officials interpreted the presence of such information as father’s identity being known and assumed the applicants were hiding facts.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/no-state-for-women">No state for women</a>, Neha Gurung
The Supreme Court in one of such cases had clearly interpreted the meaning of ‘father unidentified’. In its overarching decision, the court stated the following:
‘It seems neither lawful nor just to compel an individual to accept someone as an identified father merely because their biological father’s name, surname, or address is claimed to be known or mentioned in educational or other documents. It would be just to consider the father’s identity as “unidentified”; if the individual has not received paternal affection or care, and the alleged father has never taken any responsibility, borne any obligation, or been physically present before the children, leading to a situation where the children haven’t even seen their face. Such an alleged biological father should remain “unidentified” for these children until they formally acknowledge them as their son or daughter, or, in their absence, their family provides reasonable proof to confirm the fact and identifies the relationship through a process acceptable to the children, or until such a confirmation becomes impossible.’
Based on this decision, multiple implementation challenges, and growing advocacy around this concern, the government included the above-mentioned addition in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-citizenship-amendment-bill-explained">the Bill</a>.
Is it new?
The proposed addition is neither an introduction of the new right, nor does it provide anything beyond what the Constitution mandates. Since the Constitution itself uses the term ‘father untraceable or unidentified’, the most a legislation can do is to ensure that the constitutional provisions are interpreted and implemented in its true meaning. Therefore, the current Bill only serves to clarify the existing misinterpretation of the phrase ‘father unidentified’.
In a country where about 17% of the population are <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/stateless-daughters-in-nepal,863">single mothers</a>, this clarification may provide certain relief for those whose fathers name was mentioned in the document and the father is now unidentified. However, the addition does not grant anything new.
The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/are-women-not-nepali-enough">gender discriminatory citizenship </a>where the citizenship or legal identity of a person is always dependent on one’s husband or father still remains.
Additionally, the current addition does not completely incorporate the Supreme Court’s decision which is broader and more comprehensive, requiring that the father be considered unidentified irrespective of the knowledge of the father’s name, surname and address, if the applicant/person has not felt the paternal affection or care, and the alleged father has never taken any responsibility, or borne any obligation or been physically present before the children.
The Bill only takes ‘father’s name’ into consideration. It does not recognize the mention of surname or address in the applicant’s certificates, nor the absence of emotional and physical presence, and responsibility in their life.
2. Addition to Section 18 of the Act:
i. Unless otherwise provided in this Act, a person dissatisfied with an order or decision made by an official under this Act may file a petition with the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs within thirty-five days from the date of such order, through the District Administration Office or directly through Nepal Government.
ii. Upon receiving the report pursuant to sub-section (1), the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs shall (must) issue their decision or order after obtaining the report from the official who issued the order or made the decision, within 30 days from the date of appeal, and such decision or order made by them shall be final.’
This provision is already present in the Act itself, and the Bill simply amends or adds the parts that are in bold letters. The positive part is that it makes the right to redress mandatory. Meaning, it not only ensures the right to appeal against the unsatisfactory decisions made by the local authorities, but also the right to receive the decision.
Earlier, it depended on the government's discretion to hear the appeal, but if this amendment is passed, it now becomes the State's obligation to ensure this as a due process of law.
This makes it easier for individuals denied citizenship, by the Chief District Office (CDO), to register an appeal in the higher office, which is the Home Ministry. However, in cases concerning a certain category of naturalised citizenship that falls under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry, its decision becomes final and cannot be appealed.
This means that Nepal has two categories of naturalised citizenship. One that falls under the jurisdiction of CDO, such as naturalised citizenship to foreign women via marriage relationship. Another that falls under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry, such as naturalised citizenship to persons born to Nepali mother and foreign father or foreigners who intend to acquire citizenship via stay requirement.&nbsp;
While the former can be appealed if the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the official, the former, which is the government's decision, cannot be appealed.
3. Addition of Section 22(a) to the Act: ‘Shall provide a minor’s identity card to a person who is under 16 years of age, if either mother or father is a Nepali citizen.’
This provision can be considered as a positive extension of the child’s constitutional right. The Constitution of Nepal in Article 39 (1) states that ‘every child shall have the right to name and birth registration along with his or her identity’. The current Bill extends this right to a minor's ID card.
However, a minor ID card does not guarantee a citizenship certificate, which in Nepal, a person is eligible to apply only at the age of 16. This means: even though the child has the minor’s ID card and perhaps also a passport based on it, while applying for citizenship at the age of 16 or beyond, the person is bound by citizenship laws — which as we have seen is heavily dependent on the father's identity.
The conclusion?
The current amendment does not ensure any dramatic legal reform nor ensure a complete <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-right%20-to-have-rights,2656">gender equality in nationality laws</a>, simply because it technically and legally cannot.
When the Constitution itself uses gendered language such as ‘mother’, ‘father', ‘Nepali citizen man’, and ‘foreign citizen woman’, a legislation cannot override it. Nevertheless, recent amendments to the Act, including the first amendment, shows the government’s leniency towards gender equal citizenship laws.
Additionally, Article 49 of the Constitution also recognises equal lineage right of women, meaning that the family descent is legally recognised to be carried on by both genders. Hopefully in the nearest future, Nepal will carry this same principle to shape its citizenship law as well.&nbsp;
A transformative reform by ensuring gender equal nationality rights through constitutional amendment is still possible. Nepal, a member state to the CEDAW and CRC, is still in the list of 24 countries in the world that have gender unequal citizenship laws. &nbsp;It has the obligation as well as potentiality to become a pioneer in recognizing<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/quality-of-equality-for-women"> women’s equal rights </a>to confer citizenship to their children and spouse in par with men.
Neha Gurung is a human rights lawyer dedicated to advocating for equal citizenship rights, and co-founder of the Citizenship Affected People's Network. A Fulbright scholar, Gurung obtained LLM from the Washington College of Law.

Full equality vs status quo

Recent outrage in Sikkim over an Indian Army expedition climbing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-kangchenjunga">Kangchenjunga</a>, the world’s third-highest peak, has spiked attention to the need to balance mountaineering jobs with indigenous reverence for sacred landmarks. Kangchenjunga (8,586m) is not a peak as much as it is a mountain range with 16 peaks above 7,000m on the border between India and Nepal -- the word itself means ‘five treasures of the snows’ in Tibetan. Some of the highest prominences like Kangchenjunga West and Kangbachen are in Nepal, while the Main, Central and South Peaks are on the border. Climbing the peak from the Indian side has been banned since 2001 because the indigenous Lepcha community there regard the mountain as the abode of Dzoe-nga, the patron deity of Sikkim, which was an independent Himalayan Kingdom until it was annexed by India in 1975.&nbsp; Buddhists in Sikkim say their saint, Padmasambhava, recognised the mountain as a protective spirit. The state has declared the base of the mountain Kangchenjunga National Park, which covers an area one-third of Sikkim. ‘The act of scaling this sacred peak is not only a matter of serious concern but also a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim,’ read a letter from Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) to Amit Shah, India’s Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation.&nbsp; Tamang continued: ‘We further request Your Honour to take up the issue with the Government of Nepal to ensure that no future expeditions are permitted on the sacred mountain, in deference to the deeply held beliefs and cultural values of the people of Sikkim.’ Kangchenjunga was climbed for the first time exactly 70 years ago by a British team who told King Tashi Namgyal, the Choegyal of Sikkim, that they would not set foot on the summit. Since then, there have been about 532 successful climbs of the peaks and 52 have died while trying.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250628060616_5c268e08cf49f36b79ef9b31933fc2d9bf9a6f65414e7ca06dd028bf04e7ccc1.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250628060616_5c268e08cf49f36b79ef9b31933fc2d9bf9a6f65414e7ca06dd028bf04e7ccc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1782" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb NT"> <figcaption>Indigenous communities in Sikkim held purification ceremonies following the Indian expedition to Kangchenjunga. Photo: THE VOICE OF SIKKIM / FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">This spring climbing season</a> alone, there were 70 climbing permits for foreigners issued for Kangchenjunga by the Nepal government, and made it to the top while one French climber died.&nbsp; One of the expeditions this year was an Indian Army team led by Col Ranveer Jamwal, who has summited the highest peaks on all seven continents, and Mt Everest thrice. Jamwal’s team was on the final leg of a ‘<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/nimas-summits-mt-kangchenjunga-concludes-historic-har-shikhar-tiranga-mission-successfully/articleshow/121341315.cms?from=mdr">Har Shikhar Tiranga</a>’ (The Tricolour on Every Peak) mission to plant the Indian flag at the highest points of each of India’s 28 states. Kanchenjunga was the last peak they had left, and the hardest, but the expedition put five climbers on the summit. What seems to have incensed the Sikkimese is that while it has banned climbing the mountain from its side, it was an Indian military expedition that went to Nepal to climb the mountain. After news broke of the climb in May, the Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association asked people to observe purification ceremonies in temples across the state. Mayalmit Lepcha of the association acknowledged that the Sikkim government was also partly at fault: “I don’t think such an expedition could have gone forward without the state government being informed, so it could have done something to intervene. It shows weakness. What’s done is done, all we can do is carry out these sanctification ceremonies.”&nbsp; In 2000, one year before Sikkim’s ban, the state allowed an Austrian team to attempt Kanchenjunga’s northeast face for a fee of $20,000, on agreement that they would stop 10m before the summit. Despite this, there was outrage over the expedition on the grounds that it violated Indian laws regarding the defiling of religious sites and Sikkim’s rights to maintain its culture after merging with India. The Indian Army expedition was also seen to have circumvented Sikkim’s law and violated religious sensibilities by going through Nepal. While the team may have thought they were respecting Sikkim’s beliefs by finding a way to complete the mission, the people of Sikkim saw it as defilement.&nbsp; The somber mood of the Sikkim people at the ritual contrasts sharply with Jamwal’s sense of accomplishment. “Without a doubt, the most difficult summit of my life,” he told reporters after the climb. “It tested every ounce of our will.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250628060616_ccfe079c78dab788d19fe2080ee8a5d5dcb11de4157316f6d94e5964da097157.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250628060616_ccfe079c78dab788d19fe2080ee8a5d5dcb11de4157316f6d94e5964da097157" data-rendition-name="original" width="787" height="377" loading="lazy" alt="Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb NT"> <figcaption>Prayer flags along the Sikkim-Kangchenjunga trekking route. Photo: TREKKINGININDIA.COM</figcaption> </figure>  The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">controversial Nepali-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja</a> was also on Kangchenjunga this spring the mountain, on a mission to summit all 14 8,000m peaks for a third time. He echoed Jamwal about the tough conditions: “The conditions above camp were extremely tough, with deep snow and challenging terrain—more crevasses than usual.” Nepal’s government has not said anything publicly, but it is unlikely that it will ban climbing on Kangchenjunga, since it is becoming popular with expeditions because of its technical challenges, and overcrowding on Mt Everest. Nepal does have bans in place for some of its mountains out of respect for local beliefs. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/to-open-machapuchre-for-mountaineering-or-not">Mt Machapuchre</a> (6,990m) the imposing pyramid that looms over Pokhara, for example, is seen as an icon of purity by the Gurung people and a symbol of Vishnu by the Hindu communities who live at its base. A strict climbing ban has been in place since 1957, when a British expedition led by Col Jimmy Roberts stopped 45m short of the summit – either because the last bit was too difficult or out of deference to local sentiments.&nbsp; Khumbila that stands above Namche Bazar is only 5,761m high, but like Kanchenjunga is considered the protector deity of the Sherpa people. Gauri Shankar on the Nepal-China border, called Chomo Tseringma by the local community, was off-limits between 1965 and 1979 due to its association with Lord Shiva and Gauri, his consort. Although expeditions are now allowed, there are not too many takers. In Tibet, climbing Mount Kailash is prohibited by the Chinese government because it revered by the Hindus, Buddhists and followers of the Bon faith. Even Mt Everest is regarded as sacred, and its Sherpa name is Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the Earth.&nbsp; Economically, climbs on Kanchenjunga bring in decent revenue. This climbing season, the 41 permits, at $1,800 each, brought in $73,800. This is somewhat comparable to Makalu, Lhotse, and Annapurna I, but these numbers are dwarfed by the $4 million in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Everest permits</a>. Revenue from Kanchenjunga climbing permits is something Nepal could potentially forgo if necessary, but the expeditions also provide jobs to hundreds of high altitude guides, porters, base camp support staff and other logistical costs.&nbsp; As the third highest mountain in the world and the tallest in India, there will always be significant motivation to climb it from the Nepal side, especially as climbers are drawn by the technical climbing at high altitude.

Kangchenjunga: too sacred to climb?

In 2023, northern India suffered record-breaking heat. In 2024, it broke its own record. In 2025, the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Nepal Tarai suffered a prolonged pre-monsoon heat wave and humidity, forcing closure of schools and workplaces. This week, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/europe-heat-wave-intensifies-as-fresh-warnings-issued/live-73108302">southern Europe is suffering the worst heat wave</a> since temperature records began. Football matches, tennis tournaments have been affected, and tourist sites have been closed off. Qatar has ordered a midday work curfew for Nepali and other migrant workers are the maximum temperature this week touched 45°C.&nbsp; Kathmandu Valley experienced its highest temperature in 25 years in May 2024 at 35.3°C. This year, the maximum temperature exceeded 30°C on many days — heat that till a decade ago would be considered unusual. Rains in early June also meant that towns in the mountains sweltered under high heat plus humidity.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250703090748_6975cfc2ad573f3a09ca301a299a9e92a420da7f1c5c90b8e4d061a2053dcd3e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250703090748_6975cfc2ad573f3a09ca301a299a9e92a420da7f1c5c90b8e4d061a2053dcd3e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1935" height="801" loading="lazy" alt="maximum average temperature in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Source: DHM</figcaption> </figure>  Measuring just temperature does not give a true picture of how hot it is. When humidity is factored in, the heat index this summer has been much higher in northern India and Nepal. Also, the hotter the air temperature the higher the concentration of water vapour in it. “We feel it is getting hotter, and our statistics back that up,” says Shanti Kandel at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, which issued two heat wave warnings this year, compared to 11 last year. “We need more research to analyse how humidity is make this situation worse.” <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-faces-alarming-30-rise-in-moist-heat-stress-over-40-years-affecting-wide-swath-of-country-imd-study/articleshow/109376863.cms?from=mdr">A recent analysis</a> by the Indian Meteorological Department has found that heat stress in that country has increased by nearly 30% over the past 40 years. Similarly, India’s Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) noted that cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Lucknow have experienced a 6-9% rise in relative humidity in the last decade.&nbsp; It also states that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/majority-indian-districts-face-high-heatwave-risk-study-shows-2025-05-20/#:~:text=%22About%2057%20per%20cent%20of,usual%20number%20of%20heatwave%20days.">60% of Indian districts</a>, home to three-quarters of the country’s 1.3 billion people face a high to very high risk from extreme heat, with rising night-time temperatures and humidity. The heat index is also called ‘<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/north-indian-heat-wave-hits-nepal">wet-bulb temperature</a>’ and is a measure of how hot the human body feels when humidity levels are also high — usually much hotter than the recorded temperature. For example, a wet-bulb temperature of 35°C is considered the maximum limit of heat and humidity that humans can handle, beyond which the body cannot cool by perspiration, leading to death. One indicator of increasing humidity is a rise in average minimum temperature, and Nepal recorded the highest figure since 1981 last year, with a peak of 15.8°C. Higher minimum temperature denotes warmer nights, which in turn is an indication of heat stress caused by increasing humidity, which in turn is a result of global warming. Aside from higher average temperatures worldwide this year, what makes heat and humidity more unbearable is that cities are always hotter than their surroundings. This is due to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/preparing-for-kathmandu-s-heat-waves">urban heat island (UHI) effect</a> – for example the temperature inside Kathmandu’s Ring Road can be hotter by <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/what-are-heat-islands">up to 4°C during the daytime and by 1 to 3°C in the evening</a> compared to the outskirts. “Climate change is one reason for rising temperature, but there are other factors like increased heat in urban spaces due to concrete buildings and infrastructure, emissions from vehicles, industries, and home appliances,” explains urban planner Bhushan Tuladhar. He adds: “Much of this comes down to how we have developed our cities, not just our roads and buildings but also our water system, waste management, culture and customs as well as economy.” There is a feedback loop at work: as it gets hotter, more energy is used for fans, coolers, and air-conditioners which in turn add to the urban heat bubble. The way to reduce the UHI effect is to have more parks, tree-lined streets and water bodies to cool cities down.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212095525002093">A recent study published in the journal Urban Climate</a> by Nepali researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Tribhuvan University, University of Groningen, etc showed that even within Kathmandu, urban forests cooled neighbourhoods by as much as 1.2°C while ponds reduced the temperature by up to 0.85°C compared to nearby houses.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250703090748_e4de75dbdfb5fcfdeb0935eda364dc16b5dca8857ba335ab0f4586ebdc5093a9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250703090748_e4de75dbdfb5fcfdeb0935eda364dc16b5dca8857ba335ab0f4586ebdc5093a9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2580" height="1038" loading="lazy" alt="urban heat island in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Source: URBAN CLIMATE et al.</figcaption> </figure>  ‘Our results demonstrate that blue-green spaces provide significant cooling benefits across the Kathmandu Valley, with distinct patterns by type, size, design, and urban context,’ concluded the paper, whose lead author is Saurav Bhattarai at Jackson State University in the United States. The old towns in Kathmandu Valley with traditional brick and tile architecture, ponds and trees managed hot summers better. Compact houses around a courtyard gave people just the right amount of sunlight, and use of clay mortar and bricks insulated houses in winter while cooling them in summer. There were open spaces, fertile land along the floodplains for farming, and brick pavements that allowed for seepage. “Our cities were planned taking nature into account,” says Sangeeta Singh, a professor of urban planning at the Institute of Engineering. “Kathmandu Valley is now built up, but we can still reintegrate blue-blue spaces into town planning with vertical gardening, urban forestry, using local material and harvesting rainwater.”&nbsp; Kathmandu’s municipalities have by-laws controlling building design and structure, but strict enforcement of land use and zoning are missing. Extreme heat disproportionately affects the urban poor who may not have access to fans or air-conditioners, exacerbating poverty.&nbsp; Cities in the plains have it even worse. As heat and humidity rise simultaneously, it could <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/garmi-se-behal-chalo-nepal">reverse the current mass migration</a> of people from the mountains to the Tarai, where 53% of Nepal’s population lives. <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/92fbbbc6180238e18e7b239fad83e38a-0280032024/original/12-DHNT-Temperature-poverty-inequality-September-2024.pdf">A World Bank study</a> put the cost of a 1°C rise in temperature at 17.1% increase in poverty globally. Estimates put the total number of urban poor in developing countries exposed to the worst heat extremes at 26 million presently, this number is bound to grow to 215 million by mid-century, an over eight-fold increase. Meanwhile, 489,000 health-related deaths occur each year, 45% of them in Asia alone. “Heat has to be seen from a class perspective,” says Singh. “Those with money can afford gadgets and appliances to keep their homes and offices cool, but not day labourers or poor families living in cramped housing with poor ventilation.” Climate breakdown is going to widen the class divide in cities, as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/unthinkable-in-the-current-climate">summers become unliveable</a>. Says Singh: “We need policy intervention to address this class injustice. Our building by-laws and new town development must urgently integrate climate and energy efficiency elements.”

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