Nepal glacier ‘saw exceptional heat’
Houses damaged in Nepal's devastating flash floods triggered by a glacier-mountain collapse in August. (AFP Photo)
The mountain section whose collapse triggered fatal floods in Nepal and China on August 26 had experienced unprecedented heat for the time of year, meteorological data analyzed by a researcher shows.
Average temperatures on the mountain glacier at an altitude of 5,200 meters were estimated at around 5 degrees Celsius between Aug. 21 and 26. This is exceptionally high.
They had not exceeded 4 degrees over the same period in more than 55 years of data recording, although no direct link to the collapse has so far been established.
