Four of the eight countries in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region recorded more than 10 major disasters in 2025, says the latest report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Kathmandu-based intergovernmental knowledge center working in the region. Overall the region recorded 115 disasters, 42 of which were in India—the highest in the region, nearly 36 percent of the total disasters.
ICIMOD has eight regional member countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
In 2025, Asia accounted for a significant share of global environmental disasters, which was reflected in the HKH region. In 2024, countries in the region had experienced economic losses of more than USD $6 billion from such events, with most of the damage caused by “water-related hazards such as floods, landslides, and storms,” says ICIMOD.
The conditions did not improve in 2025
Water-related hazards continued with rainfall-induced repeated flooding and landslides across several HKH countries, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. “Other hazards, such as glacial lake outburst floods, were also reported in select locations. Across the region, about 1.2 million people were displaced or directly affected by disasters during the year,” says an ICIMOD release.
Globally, disaster-related economic losses in 2025 were estimated at more than USD 169 billion. In comparison, losses recorded across the HKH highlight how extreme events translate into disproportionate impacts in a region characterised by complex terrain and high exposure,” says the release. The HKH region stretches over 3,500km, including the entire area or parts of eight countries, from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east.
River systems at stake
The region is home to 10 large Asian river systems: the Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra (Yarlungtsanpo), Irrawaddy, Salween (Nu), Mekong (Lancang), Yangtze (Jinsha), Yellow River (Huanghe), and Tarim (Dayan); those provide water and form the basis of the livelihoods of a population of about 240 million people across the region. ” The basins of these rivers provide water to 1.9 billion people, a fourth of the world’s population,” says ICIMOD.
A substantial volume of the water resources is stored as snow and glacier ice in the region. “Cryosphere components including permafrost and glacial lakes, provide various ecosystem services for mountain and downstream communities. The snow cover area during winter varies between 951,000 sq km and 1,390,000 sq km. During summer, it ranges between 388,000 and 481,000 sq km. The total glacier area can extend up to 87,340 sq km,” ICIMOD says.
Multi-hazard warning
According to data, Myanmar, Pakistan, and China experienced a series of monsoon-induced floods in 2025, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods.
The increasing disasters have led to warnings of multi-hazard events, which occur when more than one type of hazard, such as floods, landslides, or droughts, happen simultaneously or when one disaster triggers another.
Such hazards occurred during the Kedarnath floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 in India; the South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim in 2023, India; and the Melamchi flood in Nepal in 2021.
“Recent years show how floods, landslides, and other hazards are increasingly overlapping in mountain regions, amplifying damages to homes, infrastructure, and essential services,” said Pema Gyamtsho, director-general at ICIMOD.
Death rate decline
Long-term data from 1975 to 2024 shows a decline in death rates and the number of people affected by disasters in the region after 2013. Data gaps may be responsible for the trend, but improvements in preparedness and early warning systems may also have contributed, analysts say.
“The numbers are still worrying, but the post-2013 trend suggests fewer lives are being affected year by year, which may reflect better climate services and preparedness in parts of the region,” said Manish Shrestha, a hydrologist at ICIMOD. “Sustained investment in preparedness and planning remains critical as risks continue to rise,” Shrestha added.
Early warning systems have been responsible for reducing losses in some flood-prone areas. Alerts issued from a flood early warning system in eastern Nepal along the Khando River in 2024 helped evacuate around 60,000 people living downstream.
Risk-informed investments
Reducing future disaster losses in the region will depend additionally on risk‑informed investments, analysts say, where development and infrastructure planning take multi‑hazard risks into account. Integrating hazard and vulnerability data into investment decisions is essential, as exposed communities risk locking in higher losses as climate‑driven extremes intensify.
Multi‑hazard risks are likely to intensify in the coming years, experts warn, as climate change alters weather patterns and increases the frequency and severity of extreme events, leaving exposed communities across the region vulnerable to escalating losses.