Nepal intends to use a new study, which links climate change to last month's devastating floods, as the basis for a financial request from a United Nations fund. The country hopes to claim around $20 million (£15 million) from the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
The study, published on Thursday by research group World Weather Attribution, states that climate change was a likely contributing factor in the avalanche of rock and ice that caused the floods on the Nepal-Tibet border. Dr Friederike Otto, an Imperial College London climatologist and co-author, said there was "absolutely no doubt that human-induced climate change played a role here in the preconditioning of the disaster."
The study describes the disaster as a "compound event" influenced by rising temperatures, thinning glaciers, thawing permafrost, and pre-existing geological weaknesses. It noted that July and August temperatures in the area were approximately 1.5C (2.7F) warmer "due to human influence on the climate."
Nepali authorities have stated the World Weather Attribution report "will be the main basis of our claim as it has detailed what role climate has played in this disaster," according to Maheshwar Dhakal, spokesperson for Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment. The UN Fund, which became operational last year, requires evidence that losses were caused by climate change.
Officials responsible for the UN fund are scheduled to convene in December to decide on requests, including whether to make an urgent decision for Nepal. The fund reportedly has just under $400 million (£300 million) allotted for disbursement, while nearly 120 countries have submitted claims totalling almost $3 billion (£2.2 billion).