Rising temperatures contributed to the Himalayan floods by destabilizing ice and permafrost around a collapsed rock formation in Nepal and Tibet. Scientists concluded that human-caused warming had a "very strong linkage" to the disaster, which killed over 1,300 people and caused $5 billion in damage. The report, published by World Weather Attribution, found that temperatures 12 degrees above normal weakened the mountain slopes.

While a 2015 earthquake may have also played a role, the findings could inform Nepal's request for UN climate aid. Three weeks after the event, thousands remain missing. The assessment was prepared by two dozen researchers and highlights how global warming driven by fossil fuels has exposed permafrost to above-freezing conditions more frequently, weakening rocky slopes.

Higher temperatures also shrunk the glacier on Langtang Lirung, which had been supporting part of the mountainside. The glacier had been losing around 2 percent of its area per year since 2010. Exceptional snowfall last October and November may have also contributed to the deluge.

The report has not yet been peer-reviewed.