When key terminologies were simplified, participants were able to be identify key hazards-as rain that came too heavily and sometimes erratically, wind that tore roofs away, flood that arrived with louds sounds and vibration before anyone could see the water. It was the dry months that weakened potato harvests, the landslides that blocked roads, damaged water supply, and unsettled daily life.
The 2024 glacial lake outburst flood that swept through Thame village causing immense destruction was most talked about. With time, they shared their experience of continuous rainfall, damaged trails, destroyed homes and a school, and families who had left the village for Kathmandu because rebuilding did not seem possible.
“The disaster has already struck. What is the point of you being here now? Will you give us a solution to deal with such events in the future?” one community member questioned.
The question lingered inside the room as it captures the core of UNESCO’s effort there: strengthening response mechanism of mountain communities before the next disaster, and building resilience to better respond to its aftereffects.
Thame’s experience is not isolated.
From 27 November to 5 December 2025, UNESCO carried out field consultations in the Khumbu region of Nepal’s Koshi River Basin. This initiative is part of the “Reduce Vulnerability and Build Resilience in the Koshi Basin of Nepal” project under the project “Sustainable water security in developing countries through climate change adaptation”, funded by the Government of Republic of Korea. The initiative is based on Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA), a participatory approach that engage communities, technical experts and decision-makers understand climate induced risks and identify practical adaptation options.
The first consultation took place in Namche on 29 November 2025 and the second in Thame, a more remote settlement within Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, on 1 December 2025. The two round of discussions engaged 38 women and 27 men comprised of local women, youth, religious representatives, local leaders, service providers, and national park representatives.
In Namche, the gateway to Everest and a town in the same basin as Thame, participants spoke of erratic heavy rain, glacial lake outburst floods, drought, landslides, changing snowfall, snow avalanches, windstorms, new spring-water bursts, and unreliable change in pattern of ecological indicators like snowmelt, wind pattern, seasons and crops. Some remembered the 1985 Dig Tsho outburst flood. Others spoke of the 2024 Thame flood and its effects on electricity, roads, trails and livelihoods.
In Thame, participants identified eight major hazards: intense rainfall, strong wind, earthquake, glacial lake outburst flood, drought, insects in grass farms, human-wildlife conflict and frost. Intense rainfall was identified as the most frequently occurring hazard in the village. Participants also described an early local sign for heavy rain or snow: when black clouds gather, the sky “miss-calls” them.
What science confirms
The scope of the findings from the consultations are reflected in Report on the Development of CRIDA Step 3 in the Koshi River Basin, Nepal, prepared by the University of Cincinnati as part of the broader assignment to support training of Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) and to develop CRIDA Case Studies for Nepal and other countries.
The narrative that the report suggests is clear: climate change is reshaping water risks in the basin. The story is not simply about more water or less water. But it is a complex dynamic of heavier rainfall, shifting seasons, expanding glacial lakes, rising flood risk, temporary increases in meltwater, and long-term uncertainty.
The data narrates the story of increasing rainfall across the Koshi Basin, including in the Sagarmatha National Park region (ERA5 Land data). The basin is experiencing an increase in heavy downpours exceeding 30 mm or more per day, while the number of wet days is declining. What it means is it rains less often but when it does, the downpours are significantly much intense.
At the same time, the entire basin is arming with maximum temperature ascending by about 0.014°C per year (Third Pole data). During the community discussion, one participant vividly remembers “two decades ago, snow would pile so high that it could be scooped from the window.” That memory now stands just as a lucid testament against the sharp contrast of changing snowfall patterns many witness today.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-helps-communities-khumbu-region-build-foundation-adapting-changing-climate-nepal?hub=701
