Nepal’s Army: Fighting Floods, Not Just Foes

KATHMANDU – As Himalayan glaciers melt and monsoon rains grow fiercer, Nepal’s military is being pulled into a new kind of warfare—one fought against rising waters and landslides, not enemy soldiers. The central question for the institution is no longer whether it should engage in disaster relief. Instead, the focus has shifted to how the army is adapting and restructuring itself to survive the era of climate change. This transformation is not optional. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe, the military’s traditional role of border defense is rapidly expanding to include large-scale rescue operations, logistics for displaced civilians, and infrastructure repair. The shift forces the force to balance its classic combat training with new skills in emergency management. As the climate crisis intensifies, the Nepali military is learning that its greatest threat may not come from across the border, but from the sky above and the rivers below.