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Schools and colleges have closed after unprecedented monsoon rains caused widespread waterlogging, road collapses, house collapses and severe traffic jams in northern India. Over a two-week period, more than 100 people lost their lives in these calamities. The state of Himachal Pradesh was worst hit, with 88 people killed, including 42 in the last five days, and more than 100 people injured, according to a report by News agency.
Cars, buses, bridges and homes were swept away by swirling flood waters in the hilly region, which is about 500 kilometers north of New Delhi.
How’s it going? lets take alook:
In Uttar Pradesh, 12 people died due to rain-related accidents including drowning, lightning and snake bite, according to the report. In addition, one person died in New Delhi and four died in Kashmir. Efforts were made to rescue nearly 300 stranded people, mostly tourists, in Chandertal district of Himachal Pradesh, with helicopters being deployed for the operation.
Heavy rains and landslides caused nearly 170 houses to collapse, while about 600 others sustained partial damage in Himachal Pradesh. In New Delhi, residential areas near the Jamuna River were hit by floods, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents from low-lying areas. The high water level in the river, which has reached a record for 40 years, has disrupted vehicular traffic during the morning rush hour.
To provide relief, the authorities moved nearly 30,000 people to relief camps, converted some schools into relief shelters, and allowed hundreds of people with their livestock to take shelter under flyovers in eastern parts of New Delhi. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, attributed the rise in river levels to over-discharge of water from the Hatni Kund Barrier in the neighboring state of Haryana.
What does IMD say?
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast more heavy rains in the northern regions in the coming days. The country has already received about 2% more than normal during the current monsoon season, which lasts from June to September. While monsoon rains are essential for rainfed crops, they often lead to severe damage and severe flooding in India.
Why is this happening?
According to Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the recent heavy rainfall in several states of northern India was the result of the interaction between the westerly disturbance and the southwest monsoon, according to a report by weather channel. He noted that there is an increasing trend of heavy and extremely heavy rainfall events globally, including in India, due to the changing climate scenario.
Madhavan Nair Rajivan, former secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, told the site that while multiple factors contributed to the weather extremes in northern India, a similar weather pattern was observed in Uttarakhand in 2013. However, he emphasized that there had been a shift in the climatic context, with an amount of precipitation Large amounts of rain in shorter periods of time. He attributed this change to rising temperatures, global warming and an increased frequency of heavy precipitation events.
said Dr Roxy M Kaul, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology weather channel Monsoon patterns in India have changed due to climate change. There have been periods of lack of precipitation followed by short bursts of torrential to very heavy rain in recent years. This pattern has been observed in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand, where nearly a month’s worth of rain was received in just 24-48 hours.
Dr Cole explained that global warming and warmer oceans lead to more moisture in the air, which is carried by the southwest monsoon. However, instead of spreading moisture throughout the season, it results in short, intense spells of rain due to climatic changes.
Dr Akshay Deuras, a scientist from the University of Reading, described the recent weather events as unusual and unique for the month of July, according to the report. He noted that the frequency of such events in July is usually lower compared to June or October. Although it cannot be definitively asserted that climate change has caused the convergence of these weather systems, there is a tendency for extremes to be amplified by climatic anomalies.
Dr. Duras predicted that heavy rainfall and prolonged rains would increase in the coming years, leading to floods, landslides and widespread destruction. These events are expected to disproportionately affect marginalized communities and vulnerable populations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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