On May 12, 2025, high in Nepal’s Langtang Valley, a group of Buddhist monks, scientists, and community leaders gathered beneath the thinning shadow of Yala Glacier. The occasion—Buddha Day—became a moment of both reverence and reckoning, as the group honored a glacier now predicted to be Nepal’s first to die. The ceremony, organized by the International Center for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with local Indigenous leaders, was more than just a spiritual gesture; it was a call to recognize the profound impacts of climate change on both culture and survival.
The Yala Glacier, stretching across the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, has lost 66% of its mass since 1974. According to ICIMOD, the glacier’s retreat has been so dramatic that researchers have had to move their base camp multiple times since 2011. Scientific predictions now estimate that Yala will cease to flow entirely by the 2040s—a fate that will mark it as officially “dead.” This loss is not isolated: HKH glaciers feed 10 major river systems, providing clean water to nearly 2 billion people. The risks posed by their decline reverberate far beyond the mountain valleys.
During the tribute, local Lamas performed spiritual offerings of fruit, rice, and milk, acts intended to honor the glacier and pray for its longevity. As sociologist Pasang Sherpa of Tribhuvan University explained to GlacierHub, the ceremony was not a funeral but “a spiritual offering to honor the Yala Glacier to promote well-being and pray for the longevity of the glacier.” The rituals were deeply rooted in the community’s belief that nature is sacred, with Yala’s salt and water considered to have medicinal qualities and the local yak’s milk and food said to be improved by grazing at its foothills.
But the event was also a stark reminder of how climate change is accelerating threats to communities that have contributed least to the crisis. As Manjushree Thapa, a Nepalese-born writer, poignantly noted, “the communities who live in the forefront of climate change, are not themselves the cause…. Far richer, more industrialized countries are the culprits here.” The ceremony’s blend of science and spirituality underscored the interconnectedness of environmental, cultural, and ethical concerns.
The tribute at Yala Glacier follows a recent tradition of memorializing lost glaciers. In 2019, Iceland held a ceremony for Okjökull Glacier, while Switzerland, Mexico, the United States, and France have also held glacier funerals. At Yala, two granite plaques were placed at the site, including one bearing a poem by Icelandic writer Andri Snaer Magnason: “We know what is happening and what needs to be done, only you know if we did it.” In conversation with GlacierHub, Magnason described these memorials as “a cultural creation,” providing an opportunity to “define historical moments” and mark loss in landscapes transformed by climate change.
For the scientists attending the Yala event, the ceremony also marked the beginning of a new phase of fieldwork. Local university partners from Tribhuvan and Kathmandu University received training in glacier measurement methods, working side by side with international colleagues. As ICIMOD highlighted, Yala Glacier plays a crucial role in training the next generation of glaciologists and advancing research in the Himalayan region.
Yet the consequences of glacier retreat extend far beyond research. The people of Langtang Valley are already witnessing the effects: shifting weather patterns, heavier rainfall, and a heightened risk of floods and landslides. The loss of glaciers threatens not just water supplies, but the very fabric of communities that depend on these mountains for sustenance and spiritual identity.
Globally, the story of Yala Glacier is echoed in new warnings from the World Economic Forum (WEF). On September 18, 2025, WEF released a report projecting that rising global temperatures will result in severe health risks and over $1.5 trillion in productivity losses. According to the report, sectors such as food and agriculture, the built environment, health, and healthcare will bear the brunt of these impacts. In food and agriculture alone, climate health impacts could lead to $740 billion in lost output, raising serious concerns for global food security.
The built environment sector is projected to lose $570 billion in productivity, while the health and healthcare sector could see $200 billion in losses due to workforce illness related to climate health. The insurance industry, too, is expected to experience a sharp rise in climate health claims, compounding the financial and logistical pressures already facing businesses and communities worldwide.
Eric White, Head of Climate Resilience at the World Economic Forum, emphasized the urgency: “We are entering an era in which protecting worker health is proving essential to business continuity and long-term resilience. Every year we delay embedding resilience into business decisions, the risks to human health and productivity climb and the costs of adaptation rise.” The report, developed in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, urges companies to act now—investing early in climate health adaptation not only mitigates risks but also unlocks new opportunities for innovation and growth.
Among the opportunities cited are the development of climate-resilient crops to protect food systems, heat-stable medications to expand access to medicines, new cooling technologies to safeguard construction workers, and innovative insurance models designed to protect communities from climate health shocks. The report’s findings were published ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025 and in preparation for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, reflecting a growing consensus that adaptation is not just an environmental imperative but a business one as well.
Back in Langtang Valley, the collaboration between scientists, local communities, and international organizations at the Yala Glacier tribute serves as a microcosm of the global response needed to address climate change. The ceremony’s blend of spiritual reverence and scientific rigor highlights the importance of integrating local knowledge and values with technical expertise. As Karenna Gore, director of the Center for Earth Ethics, observed, “Throughout human history, people have understood their relationship with water, wind, fire and land in the context of their relationship with God or with some divine being or beings.” This understanding remains vital as communities grapple with the tangible losses wrought by a warming world.
Ultimately, the story of Yala Glacier is a reminder that climate change is not just a scientific or economic challenge, but a deeply human one. The ceremonies, poems, and prayers offered on its melting ice are acts of hope and memory—testaments to what is at stake, and to the urgent need for global action before more glaciers, and the communities that depend on them, are lost to history.
