Scientists fear Nepal's disaster is just a glimpse of the carnage climate change could cause

Some climate scientists are cautious about prematurely attributing human caused-climate change as the sole cause of the disaster that resulted in the violent flooding of Himalayan villages in Nepal this week. But other experts say it was the kind of catastrophe they’ve been warning about for years.

Glaciers and permafrost in the Himalayas are melting faster as temperatures rise, though scientists are still studying the exact causes of this week’s landslide.

Climate change is leading to conditions that can destabilize high-mountain rock and ice, strengthening prospects for disasters such as this week's Himalayan flood along the border between Nepal and China's Tibet that killed 165, scientists say.