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Keldura Daily · Climate & Environment

How can one mountain collapse trigger repeated floods?

Satellite imagery indicated that ice and rock fell nearly 4,000 vertical feet from Langtang Lirung, generating a cascade of mud, water and debris that traveled more than 60 miles.[1] By Friday afternoon, government reports said 538 bodies had been recovered and nearly 1,000 people were missing, while scientists warned that debris-blocked rivers could unleash another flood.[1] The research found El Niños are more than 36% stronger than before the industrial era, including a 16% increase in the past 40 years.[3] El Niño naturally occurs every two to seven years when the eastern tropical Pacific warms, but the new study provides evidence that fossil-fuel-driven planetary heating is amplifying the pattern.[4][5] Levels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during pilots for a multimillion-pound water-recycling proposal.[8] The plan would remove tens of millions of litres of water a day from the Thames and replace it with treated effluent during drought.[8]

The field note

4 sources · 4 items
  1. El Niño is a temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific that disrupts weather patterns worldwide.[3]
  2. The latest event is forecast to become the strongest since at least 1950 and potentially the strongest in livin…
  3. The findings address a long-running scientific debate over whether El Niño’s severity is influenced by climate…
Story 014 sources

How is global warming amplifying El Niño?

The research found El Niños are more than 36% stronger than before the industrial era, including a 16% increase in the past 40 years.[3] El Niño naturally occurs every two to seven years when the eastern tropical Pacific warms, but the new study provides evidence that fossil-fuel-driven planetary heating is amplifying the pattern.[4][5]

Why it matters

Because El Niño shifts weather around the world and raises global temperatures, a stronger baseline pattern can intensify extreme-event and food-security risks far beyond the tropical Pacific.[3][4]

Key insights

  • El Niño is a temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific that disrupts weather patterns worldwide.[3]
  • The latest event is forecast to become the strongest since at least 1950 and potentially the strongest in living memory.[4][6]
  • The findings address a long-running scientific debate over whether El Niño’s severity is influenced by climate change rather than remaining entirely natural.[5]
  • The measured strengthening has accelerated, with a 16% increase occurring in only the past four decades.[3]

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