The devastating mudslide that struck border areas of Nepal and China serves as a stark warning that climate change-related disasters pose a grave challenge for all humanity, necessitating greater preparedness and global action to tackle global warming.

The Aug. 26 disaster was triggered by a glacier's collapse in Nepal, due to its instability under the long-term effects of climate warming. The massive mudslide has left 1,127 dead and over 4,800 missing in Nepal, and 16 dead and 546 missing in China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Several hundred foreign nationals from dozens of countries and regions are among the missing.

The deadly mudslide revealed that a sudden outburst, large peak discharge, rapid flow speed, a powerful destructive force and wide-reaching impact are the new and prominent features of cryospheric disasters due to global warming, according to Chinese scientists. It reminds us that global efforts must not be delayed to tackle climate change and protect human well-being and planetary health.

Climate change has triggered a cascade of natural hazards, including ice avalanches in high-altitude regions. Low-lying island nations are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, while extreme weather events -- exemplified by Europe's unprecedented heat waves, estimated to have caused more than 30,000 excess deaths this summer -- have become more frequent and severe. Moreover, complex climate phenomena such as El Niño are creating further uncertainties, compounding risks to human livelihoods and social stability.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in 2022 indicated climate and weather extremes are increasingly driving displacement in all regions, with small island states disproportionately affected, while flood and drought-related acute food insecurity and malnutrition have increased in Africa.

The need for global action is urgent. A briefing report of the United Nations' Scientific Advisory Board noted in June that the probabilities of the Earth system reaching tipping points rise significantly as global warming increases. Growing scientific evidence indicates several key Earth sub-systems are at increasing risk of reaching (or have already begun crossing) tipping points, it added, citing large polar continental ice sheets that may have begun long-term melting that could raise sea levels by several meters over centuries.

China is a determined participant in, a major contributor to, and a key leader in global climate governance. The country has long placed ecological conservation high on its development agenda, striving to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.

To honor its commitments, China has built the largest and the fastest-growing renewable energy system, and achieved the world's largest and fastest promotion of new energy vehicles. In another milestone of green transition, China's installed photovoltaic power capacity has recently surpassed its coal-fired power capacity for the first time.

China has introduced more legislation to advance ecological civilization. The national law on the ecological conservation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Xizang's regional regulation on glacier protection represented further major ecological and environmental protection efforts on the plateau.

Internationally, China has actively pushed for the signing and implementation of the Paris Agreement and its green technology products, such as electric vehicles and solar panels, have significantly boosted global efforts in tackling climate change.

No corner of the world is immune to climate crises. This is precisely why no country can face it alone. Collective action is an imperative that has never been more urgent.