India, Sept. 3 -- In a report published on August 28, Binod Parajuli set out what the satellite pictures showed about the origins of the August 26 tragedy. A senior divisional hydrologist in the flood forecasting division of Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Parajuli told the Kathmandu Post that imagery shared by the Chinese side pointed to a combination of three things: an ice avalanche, permafrost movement and a rockslide.

The avalanche began on Nepali territory, he said, then crossed the border into China as it came down, causing extensive damage on both sides.

Nepal has since told the world that the biggest greenhouse gas emitters should pay for what happened next. On August 26, a collapse of rock and ice near the Nep...