Rushaa Badaloo

The Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant that was destroyed by the 26 August 2026 Nepal flood had failed 14 months earlier in a similar event, but was reopened at the same site. Here we argue that the governance and financing set-up binds low-carbon infrastructure to hazardous sites. A catastrophic ice and rock avalanche in Nepal led to at least 1000 deaths and left thousands more missing.

Closures of the Strait of Hormuz transmit immediate economic shocks into cities, and drive increasing costs across transport, food and housing. Without targeted social protection and rapid electrification, crisis responses risk entrenching the fossil fuel dependence that underpins urban vulnerability.