Nepal floods: a Himalayan warning for India’s plains
Nepal’s devastating floods threaten northern India via cross-border river systems, with upstream rainfall shaping flood peaks and downstream conditions—embankment integrity, drainage and monsoon rains in India—determining how severe a flood becomes. The 2008 Kosi disaster showed embankment failure, not sheer water flow, can drive catastrophe, underscoring the need for better data sharing, real-time monitoring and joint river management as climate change and high-mountain hazards intensify future floods.