We can’t avoid disasters like Nepal, but Himalaya land-use policy can cut risk

The images from the devastating floods in Nepal were hauntingly familiar, recalling scenes from Sikkim in 2023, Uttarakhand’s Chamoli Valley in 2021, and Kedarnath in 2013. The disaster — in which flash floods swept away bridges and settlements in seconds — raises questions about the wisdom of expanding development in the Himalayas and the role of climate change in aggravating the region’s risks.