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This year, unlike in the past, the Government of Nepal’s prudence was evident when the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) issued heavy rainfall warnings. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) issued a four-day travel advisory for October 3–6, which prohibited long-distance vehicle operations and limited travel in susceptible areas. Citizens were urged to refrain from avoidable travel with early warnings of landslides and swelling rivers in the provinces of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini. Even public holidays were issued for two days, prompting the residents to stay safely at home.

With swift evacuations and well-coordinated communication, these preventative measures helped prevent significant losses during the monsoon. A slight improvement in Nepal’s disaster management was visible this year, evident with better early warning systems, institutional coordination and a maturing public response mechanism. Yet, early preparedness and rapid post-disaster recovery can no longer remain the only answer: infrastructures built for a gentler historical climate remain worryingly defenseless to the “new normal” of intensifying future extremes.

The flood that rewrote the map

The September 2024 floods were a sobering lesson. A rare cyclonic circulation and mid-tropospheric westerly trough triggered 60 hours of continuous rainfall across central and eastern Nepal. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, over 183 weather stations recorded more than 50 mm, while 25 broke 24-hour records, some exceeding 400 mm. The streams of the Bagmati, Koshi, and Narayani basins surpassed their historic highs, causing landslides, debris flows, and flash floods that affected 2.6m people, claimed 249 lives, and caused economic losses exceeding Rs 46bn, over one percent of GDP.

Among the worst hit was the Banepa–Bardibas (BP) Highway, a lifeline connecting Kathmandu with the eastern Tarai. Field assessments along the Roshi Khola corridor, from Bhakunde Besi to the Sunkoshi confluence, revealed widespread destruction, with dozens of landslides and slope failures damaging approximately 80 km of the highway, and 26 km were severely impacted. Collapsed retaining walls and eroded embankments were anything but sparse. In one particularly devastated stretch of the Kavrepalanchok district, the river eroded an 8-km segment of the roadway, rendering it impassable.

Our study found that the Roshi basin received an average of 267 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, equivalent to a once-in-773-year event, based on 60 years of rainfall records. The unprecedented precipitation turned the river into a force that the infrastructure was never built to face, with a discharge significantly higher than the design capacity.

A year later, the same story

The susceptibility was exposed again this year. Temporary repairs failed, embankments slumped and diversions were washed out. The BP Highway’s recurring damage reveals a systemic flaw: Nepal’s highways, particularly along river corridors, are no longer safe, acutely exposed to the whims of climate extremities.

Lessons from collapse

First, our engineering standards must evolve. The flood magnitudes adopted by the NRS 2070 assume a 50-year return period for first-class roads and a 100-year for bridges. While a 10 percent increase in design discharge is mandated to account for climate change, DOR’s Guidelines on Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis and River Training Works for Bridge Design no longer suffices in the face of rapidly shortening return periods.

There should be no delay in increasing the design return period to 100 and 200 years for major roads and bridges, respectively. Moving beyond reliance on historical data-based frequency analysis, all major road retrofitting, bridge reconstruction and new construction projects must be checked against the contemporary climate projections for the design period.

Second, planning must be risk-informed and data-driven. Integrating climate-informed vulnerability mapping to identify at-risk zones before the construction or repair is imperative. This helps to avoid the high-risk zones from the get-go and minimizes the likelihood of recurring future damage.

In flood-prone river corridors, vulnerability mapping determines where infrastructure elevation is necessary versus where an early warning system might suffice (reducing consequence through evacuation and traffic management). This systematic approach should be an indispensable first step before deploying costly engineering solutions.

And most importantly, resilience cannot rely on concrete alone. Structural adaptations like increased freeboard of bridges and strategic elevation of roadways should be complemented with nature-based and hybrid solutions, vegetative slope stabilization and bioengineering. In Nepal, steep slopes could benefit particularly from hybrid approaches such as vegetative bioengineering combined with check dams. Also, land-use planning, like establishing conservation buffer zones adjacent to floodplains to regulate development, prevents encroachments that heighten flood levels or exacerbate erosion.

Reaction to resilience

To break free from the disaster and repair loop, Nepal must embed “climate logic” into its development DNA. “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” the theme from the recent International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, captures this urgency: invest now, or pay exponentially later.

Short-term restoration of strategically important corridors like the BP Highway must go concurrently with long-term resilience planning.  Roads should be realigned away from unstable river bends where possible, with major corridors upgraded for at least 100-year floods, and slope protection integrated with river training works such as spurs and check structures.

Design standards must evolve beyond the historical averages to incorporate the plausible future scenarios. Climate risk screening and cost-benefit justification for resilience measures should be mandatory for detailed project reports. Increasing hydrometeorological networks and interleaving vulnerability mapping into road asset management will help prioritize investment where it matters most.

While these reforms seem costly, prevention is the cheapest insurance. Global evidence shows that every dollar spent on resilience saves at least four are saved in recovery. For Nepal, with annual road repair costs already exceeding Rs 3 billion, the choice is obvious.

The road ahead

While decisive early action can be effective in minimizing risks, it cannot substitute for durable infrastructure. Preparedness can save lives, but only resilience saves livelihoods.

The BP Highway disaster is more than just a damaged road; it serves as a warning. The next storm is imminent. Safeguarding every trip, whether to school, the market, or home, requires investing in resilience now, not in repairs later.

(Rajan KC is a civil/geotechnical engineer working on disaster mitigation and resilient infrastructure.)

Nepal concluded its participation at the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a very small team of around 20 negotiating officials. 

From securing global recognition for mountain ecosystems to amplifying the voice of vulnerable nations, Nepal’s delegation—though small—played a strategic and coordinated role throughout the two-week summit in Belém, Brazil.

According to Maheshwar Dhakal, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment and Nepal’s national focal point for the UNFCCC, the country’s presence at COP30 was marked by “strong leadership, intensive engagement, and historic outcomes” for its long-pursued mountain agenda.

COP30 opened with a series of preparatory sessions starting Nov 4—LDC Group meetings on Nov 4–5, Leaders’ Summit on Nov 6–7, and G77 and China consultations on Nov 8–9. The main negotiations ran from Nov 10–21, with discussions extending unofficially until Nov 22.

Nepal’s delegation, led by Agriculture and Livestock Development Minister Madan Prasad Pariyar participated in a number of engagements. Supported by senior officials including MOFE Secretary Rajendra Prasad Mishra, OPMCM Secretary Govinda Karki, MoALD Secretary Deepak Kharal, and Nepal’s Ambassador to Brazil Nirmal Kafley, the team included representatives from government, civil society, academia, and the media.

The highlight of Nepal’s COP30 engagement was the successful global recognition of the mountain agenda, an advocacy effort pursued jointly with Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan.

Nepal held two rounds of consultations with the COP30 Presidency, resulting in three major achievements. First on agreement to hold an Annual Dialogue on Mountains and Climate Change, beginning at SB64 in June 2026. The second one on inclusion of mountain ecosystems in the Global Mutirão (Mutirão) decision text, the main outcome document of COP30.

And the third on recognition of the mountain agenda in the preamble of the COP30 cover decision, as well as in the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) text.

Dhakal noted that this was “the strongest visibility that mountain issues have ever received at the UNFCCC,” indicating that years of persistent diplomacy had finally begun to pay off.

Nepal backed three key declarations proposed by the COP30 Presidency. Tropical Forest Facility Forever, Integrated Fire Management Declaration, Sustainable Fossil Fuel Management Declaration are on the list. Officials said these positions align with Nepal’s commitments to forest conservation and climate-resilient development.

Minister Pariyar delivered Nepal’s national statement at the high-level plenary, emphasizing the urgent need to protect vulnerable communities in the Himalayas. He also participated in 11 high-level events, including Nepal’s flagship program, “Sagarmatha to Belém”.

MOFE Secretary Mishra spoke at the Leader Summit and presented a joint statement on behalf of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan at the opening plenary, highlighting the shared vulnerabilities of Himalayan and South Asian nations.

OPMCM Secretary Govinda Karki addressed climate finance during a ministerial dialogue, calling for stronger global support to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

Nepal’s non-governmental actors and media delegates also remained active throughout, engaging in pavilion events and side discussions with development partners.

In its closing remarks, Nepal underscored the existential threat posed by global warming to Himalayan ecosystems: “For Nepal, keeping global temperature rise below 1.5°C is not just a number in an agreement—it is a matter of survival.”

Nepal welcomed the Mutirão decision, commitments to adaptation and loss and damage funding, and the new annual mountain dialogue. It also expressed gratitude to Brazil for its hospitality and congratulated Turkey and Australia for being selected to co-host COP31, and Ethiopia, the first LDC to host COP32.

Nepal expressed appreciation for the COP30 Presidency’s leadership in negotiating the mountain text. “As climate impacts intensify, the urgency to respond to the unique challenges faced by mountain regions is greater than ever,” Nepal said, while expressing hope that a formal agenda item on mountains could be secured in the future.

Despite limited numbers, Nepal maintained high internal coordination through regular meetings and media briefings. Dhakal said the quality of Nepal’s interventions, the unity among delegates, and strong collaboration with other mountainous nations were widely appreciated.

He added that Nepal’s mountain agenda is now “close to the establishment phase,” with further efforts needed in the lead-up to COP31 and SB64.

As COP30 concluded, Nepal’s delegation returned home preparing for a formal debrief. With COP31 set to be hosted jointly by Turkey and Australia, and COP32 by Ethiopia, Nepal aims to continue building momentum toward securing formal recognition and sustained support for mountain regions, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable ecosystems.

In Dec 2023, COP28 held in Dubai passed an ambitious plan to dramatically cut the use of petrol, gas, and coal by 2050, expand the use of renewable energy, and bring fossil-fuel emissions down to net zero. A total of 198 countries signed the agreement.

However, shortly after signing, countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, and India backtracked on their commitments, arguing that the continued use of fossil fuels was necessary to meet global energy needs.

The United States, which had played a crucial role in securing signatures during COP28, has shown little interest in the issue after Donald Trump returned to the presidency. Trump has labeled climate change “the biggest hoax in the world.”

This time, he did not send any official federal delegation to Belém. At Belém, more than 80 countries from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa expressed the need for a clear roadmap to implement the COP28 commitments. But under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, countries like China, India, and Russia blocked progress on the agenda. As a result, the final agreement made no mention of fossil fuels at all.

International media also reported COP30 as a flop. “This year’s UN climate conference in Brazil had many unique aspects that could have been part of an historic outcome,” AP wrote adding, “The final decision announced Saturday, which included some tangible things like an increase in money to help developing nations adapt to climate change, was overall watered-down compared to many conferences in the past decade and fell far short of many delegates’ expectations. It didn’t mention the words ‘fossil fuels’, much less include a timeline to reduce their use.” 

Instead of being remembered as historic, the conference will likely further erode confidence in a process that many environmentalists and even some world leaders have argued isn’t up to the challenge of confronting global temperature rise, which is leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events like floods, storms and heat waves, it said.

Reuters said that Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had launched the summit calling for countries to agree on a ‘roadmap’ for advancing a COP28 pledge to shift away from fossil fuels.

“But it was a road to nowhere at this summit, as oil-rich Arab nations and others dependent on fossil fuels blocked any mention of the issue. Instead, the COP30 presidency created a voluntary plan that countries could sign on to—or not,” it wrote. “The result was similar to Egypt's COP27 and Azerbaijan’s COP29, where countries agreed to spend more money to address climate dangers while ignoring their primary cause.”

Everton enjoyed their first Premier League win at Manchester United for 12 years despite playing virtually the entire game with 10 men after midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping his own teammate Michael Keane on Monday, Reuters reported.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's superb first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for the visitors, who shrugged off the 13th-minute incident that had seen Gueye and Keane square up to each other.

United, who could have moved up to fifth with a win, dominated possession, especially in the second half, but Everton defended superbly to repel the hosts who looked blunt in attack, according to Reuters.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 5, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 247, 900 per tola today. 

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 3, 200 per tola today.