Torrential rainfall disrupts regions in India and Pakistan. Let's take a look at what cloudbursts entail.
In recent years, the western Himalayas—covering parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir—have experienced a significant rise in cloudburst events. These sudden and violent weather events, characterized by a large volume of rain falling in a short period, have led to devastating consequences and widespread destruction, particularly in the Himalayan and northern mountainous regions.
According to data from 2025, dozens of cloudbursts occurred in these regions between June and mid-August, triggering flash floods and major landslides. For instance, Himachal Pradesh recorded 34 cloudbursts and 74 flash floods, with repeated severe impacts in areas like Mandi. One catastrophic cloudburst in Jammu & Kashmir's Kishtwar district on August 14, 2025, resulted in significant loss of life and widespread destruction.
Climate change is the primary driver behind this increase in cloudbursts. Warming of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea enhances moisture influx into the atmosphere, while melting glaciers and snow further disrupt local weather patterns, contributing to unpredictable and extreme rainfall events. Each 1°C rise in temperature allows air to hold about 7% more moisture, increasing the potential for heavy rainfall in short bursts.
Environmental degradation, such as deforestation and wetland loss, in these regions exacerbates surface runoff, amplifying flash flood risks. Experts warn that these trends are similarly severe in Pakistan, particularly in northern mountainous areas, where climate change accelerates glacier melt and destabilizes mountain slopes, making rare weather events like cloudbursts more frequent and destructive.
The 2025 South Asian monsoon season showed an unusually high number of western disturbances—extratropical storms that bring intense rainfall—especially in the Himalayas. India experienced 14 such disturbances by August 2025, far above normal, contributing to extreme rainfalls and flood events in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Key impacts of these events include increased fatalities and missing persons during cloudburst-triggered floods, infrastructure loss due to rapid flooding and landslides, sudden formation of upstream lakes in valleys requiring emergency drainage to prevent further damage, and greater unpredictability and severity of monsoon-related disasters driven by climate-driven changes in storm patterns.
To mitigate these risks, experts recommend climate-adaptive measures such as afforestation to reduce runoff, regular clearing and widening of riverbanks and drainage channels, and improved forecasting with sub-hourly rainfall intensity data to enable timely warnings and disaster prevention.
In conclusion, climate change has significantly increased the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts in India and Pakistan, especially in their mountainous regions, worsening the humanitarian and environmental impacts of these events through enhanced moisture in the atmosphere, glacier melt, shifting weather patterns, and environmental degradation. This calls for urgent climate resilience planning and disaster management improvements in these vulnerable areas.
It's important to note that despite the difficulty in predicting cloudbursts, precautionary measures can be taken. They are known to occur in specific regions and conditions, and communities can prepare for them by avoiding building homes near rivers and valleys, postponing travel to hilly areas during heavy rain, keeping an emergency kit ready, and avoiding travel on mountainous roads during heavy rain or at night.
Read also:
- Amidst India's escalating climate crisis, transgender individuals continue to persevere
- Germany's three-month tenure under Merz's administration feels significantly extended
- Governing body allegedly persists in enjoying vacation time amidst Spain's highest danger level due to fires, claims Feijóo
- United Nations Human Rights Evaluation, Session 45: United Kingdom's Statement Regarding Mauritius' Human Rights Record
