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The devastating floods in Nepal have triggered a dispute between Kathmandu and Beijing over the sharing of crucial disaster-related data, as the death toll continues to rise and more than 3,000 people remain missing.

The dispute follows the catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, which was triggered after a glacier broke. Questions are now being raised about whether timely information could have helped authorities prepare for the disaster.

The issue comes just three months after Nepal and China held a meeting in Kathmandu in May to discuss ways of dealing with risks posed by natural disasters.

Nepal Says It Needed More Real-Time Data

Nepal says it had sought essential information from China on glacier movements, river water levels and heavy rainfall so that authorities could take timely precautions.

According to Nepal’s Department of Hydrology, China currently sends forecasts related to heavy rainfall, but Nepal needs more detailed and frequent information. It says precise updates on glacier breakage, landslides and river levels, ideally every 10 minutes, are necessary to help protect lives during a rapidly developing disaster.

Kathmandu now wants a more comprehensive arrangement with China for regular sharing of river and weather-related information, similar to the data-sharing agreement Nepal has with India.

China Rejects Nepal’s Allegations

China has rejected Nepal’s claims that it failed to provide the necessary information on time. The Chinese Embassy said it had shared relevant information, while pointing to the difficult terrain along the Himalayan border as a major challenge for monitoring conditions in the region.

According to the Chinese side, its weather centre had emailed Nepal 12 days before the disaster, warning about the possibility of heavy rainfall and landslides.

The two sides therefore have differing accounts of the information available before the August 26 floods. Nepal argues that more detailed, real-time data was required, while China maintains that warnings were provided in advance.

Disaster Raises Fresh Questions Over Preparedness

The disagreement has emerged as Nepal continues to deal with the aftermath of the floods, with thousands of people still missing.

The disaster has also renewed attention on the importance of cross-border information sharing in the Himalayan region, where glaciers, rivers, heavy rainfall and landslides can create rapidly changing risks for communities downstream.

For Nepal, the immediate concern is ensuring that information about such hazards reaches authorities quickly enough to allow people to be moved to safety. Its push for a more regular data-sharing mechanism with China comes against the backdrop of the devastation caused by the latest floods.