Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged world leaders to take stronger action on climate change, describing last month’s deadly flash flood as a warning about the growing risks faced by vulnerable countries.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Shah said the disaster demonstrated how communities that have contributed little to global warming are increasingly paying a heavy price for its consequences.

“The disaster was a warning to the world,” Shah told the assembly. “And I ask you today: Have you really heard that warning?”

International scientists have linked climate-related permafrost melting to instability in a glacier that partly collapsed and triggered the catastrophic flooding. The disaster killed at least 1,400 people, according to the report.

Shah said Nepal produces less than one-tenth of 1% of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, yet the country is facing enormous costs from increasingly severe climate-related disasters.

“We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it,” Shah said.

The 36-year-old prime minister, a former rapper and engineer, said Nepal’s recovery and reconstruction needs following the flood were estimated at around 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. He appealed for greater international support and argued that vulnerable countries should not be forced to take on additional debt to recover from climate disasters.

Shah called for more grant-based international assistance rather than large loans or fragmented funding programs. He said Nepal’s financial support system remained inadequate and overly bureaucratic.

The flooding destroyed or damaged roads, bridges, schools, homes and livelihoods, disrupting the country’s development progress. Weeks after the disaster, search and recovery operations were still continuing, with more than 6,000 people reportedly missing in the affected area. Shah said many of those people may never be found.

Nepal’s prime minister also called for closer cooperation between Nepal, India and China to strengthen climate resilience in the Himalayan region. He proposed a regional mechanism for sharing satellite information, monitoring glacial lakes, improving early-warning systems and coordinating responses to disasters that cross national borders.

The World Bank had made up to $170 million in emergency financing available to Nepal to help the country respond to the disaster and begin its recovery.

The United States also announced $31 million in assistance for Nepal’s flood recovery, bringing total U.S. financial support to $36 million.

The report cited data from the Global Carbon Project showing that the United States has emitted roughly 1,500 times more carbon than Nepal over the past 75 years.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said the disaster should not be viewed as an isolated event. He warned that the flooding could represent a preview of the climate risks facing other vulnerable countries.

Khanal also said Nepal had submitted a joint request to the United Nations fund established to address climate-related loss and damage. According to the report, Nepal was seeking $20 million in compensation for damages linked to the disaster.

Shah did not request a specific amount of international aid in his U.N. speech but urged governments to provide sufficient financial support to help vulnerable countries recover without increasing their debt burdens.

The prime minister’s appeal came as governments continue to debate how responsibility for climate-related damage should be shared between countries with very different levels of historical greenhouse-gas emissions.

SOURCE: The Guardian, Guardian staff and agencies, September 25, 2026.