KATHMANDU SEPTEMBER 18 Following the catastrophic August 26 disaster that left over 1,400 dead and 6,000 missing, climate experts and officials urged a comprehensive overhaul of Nepal's risk frameworks, infrastructure planning and climate diplomacy during a dialogue organised by the Youth Innovation Lab (YIL) today. UNPRECEDENT MULTI-HAZARD DISASTER Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, described the disaster as an unimaginable shock that has left deep national trauma. 'When we received initial information from Rasuwagadhi, we assumed it was an ordinary flood event, but its scale stunned all of us,' Uprety noted. He added that authorities are now developing frameworks to clearly measure and distinguish catastrophic multi-hazard events from conventional disasters. Analysing the physical drivers of the disaster, Ben Clarke, World Weather Attribution (WWA) study lead at Imperial College London, highlighted that permafrost degradation played a central role in driving the unprecedented magnitude of the icerock collapse. WWA study's findings highlight how longterm warming, glacier and permafrost changes, precipitation processes and underlying geological conditions interact to intensify complex, cascading mountain hazards, exposing the limits of existing risk-reduction and adaptation measures. GAPS IN SCIENCE, RSEARCH AND FORECASTING Addressing foundational gaps in atmospheric research, Archana Shrestha, director general of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, stressed that the climate and weather systems of the Himalayas remain critically understudied despite exerting global influence. 'Himalayan weather system plays a major role in shaping atmospheric patterns across Pacific Ocean and other parts of the world. Extensive study of this region's weather systems is paramount,' Shrestha said, emphasising the necessity of identifying hanging glaciers to mitigate high-altitude avalanche and cascade risks. Sanjeeb Baral, executive director of Centre for Hydrology and Water Resources Research, observed that shifting precipitation patterns have transformed localised hazards into complex, compounded disasters. Baral called for joint academic collaboration, modern landslide forecasting models, upgraded early warning systems, reduced bureaucratic friction and targeted technical capacity building to prevent mass casualties in future events. POLICY REFORMS AND SPATIAL PLANNING From a policy and governance perspective, Maheshwor Dhakal, chief of Climate Change Management Division at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, raised concerns over the politicisation of scientific discourse. He stressed that climate data must be viewed as an actionable opportunity, urging immediate policy revisions alongside prioritisation of health security, drinking water infrastructure and a structural phase-out of fossil-fuel vehicles. Reflecting on spatial planning, Narayan Prasad Regmi, joint secretary at the National Planning Commission, noted that the flood exposed the unsustainability of current settlement patterns along river basins, calling for rigorous self-reviews of development implementation. INFRASTRUCTURE AND DIPLOMACY Sushil Gyawali, advisor to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, drew comparisons between the August 26 floods and the 2015 earthquake, noting that entire settlements, land and transport networks were completely erased. He stressed a complete rethinking of national infrastructure investments, proposing high-resilience projects such as a dedicated motorway connecting Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot directly to the Chinese border to secure economic vibrancy. Reinforcing the global dimension of the crisis, Aditya Bahadur of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre called for heightened public awareness and genuine transboundary collaboration across stakeholders. Meanwhile, conservation and political activist Prashant Singh urged Nepal to shift its focus from merely seeking financial compensation to driving structural transformation. Singh recommended leveraging newly appointed diplomats to conduct robust climate diplomacy across the region. Pradip Khatiwada, executive director of YIL, emphasised the critical necessity of structured discussions to address complex multi-hazard risks. Sharing insights from his recent field assessment in the disaster zone, he urged authorities to establish a standardised national framework to map high-altitude risk zones, adding YIL is organising a series of follow-up technical events to foster deeper understanding and advance evidence-based disaster mitigation strategies.