WorldEnvironment
Nepal floods expose hydropower risks as climate warms
Flooding in Nepal damaged hydropower plants, knocked out about 10% of the country's power capacity, and left hundreds of workers missing, deepening concerns about infrastructure planning in a warming Himalayas.
In central Nepal, workers are clearing thick mud from a flood-ravaged power station that supplies electricity to more than 20,000 people. The plant was buried by debris during last week's catastrophic floods. Some involved in the cleanup said the facility should not simply be rebuilt in the same place, next to the river that destroyed it.
According to the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, up to 900 workers are unaccounted for from a dozen hydropower projects, with hundreds believed trapped in tunnels. In Nepal and China combined, more than 900 people have died and 4,700 are missing.
The loss of hydropower infrastructure is estimated to have taken 700 megawatts offline, roughly 10% of Nepal's power capacity.
Climate experts said the flooding adds to evidence that infrastructure planning in the Himalayas is being forced to account for disasters that are increasing as the climate warms.
- climate change
- Nepal floods
- Melting glaciers
- Himalayan glaciers
- Nepal-Tibet floods
From
WorldEnvironment
Nepal floods expose hydropower risks as climate warms
Flooding in Nepal damaged hydropower plants, knocked out about 10% of the country's power capacity, and left hundreds of workers missing, deepening concerns about infrastructure planning in a warming Himalayas.
In central Nepal, workers are clearing thick mud from a flood-ravaged power station that supplies electricity to more than 20,000 people. The plant was buried by debris during last week's catastrophic floods. Some involved in the cleanup said the facility should not simply be rebuilt in the same place, next to the river that destroyed it.
According to the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, up to 900 workers are unaccounted for from a dozen hydropower projects, with hundreds believed trapped in tunnels. In Nepal and China combined, more than 900 people have died and 4,700 are missing.
The loss of hydropower infrastructure is estimated to have taken 700 megawatts offline, roughly 10% of Nepal's power capacity.
Climate experts said the flooding adds to evidence that infrastructure planning in the Himalayas is being forced to account for disasters that are increasing as the climate warms.
- climate change
- Nepal floods
- Melting glaciers
- Himalayan glaciers
- Nepal-Tibet floods
From