About 100 people missing as flash flood tears through town in northern India
About 100 people missing as flash flood tears through town in northern India
About 100 people missing as flash flood tears through town in northern India
The flood was caused by a sudden and intense “cloudburst”, calling the destruction “extremely sad and distressing”.
The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning for the area, saying it had recorded “extremely heavy” rainfall of about 21cm (8in) in isolated parts of Uttarakhand.
Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say the climate crisis, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said last year that more intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” for what is to come as climate breakdown makes the planet’s water cycle ever more unpredictable.
An overlooked aspect of climate change is how in many places precipitation events are trending towards higher flux of rainwater, i.e. it isn't just that more rainfall occuring is occuring, it is that larger amounts of water are being forced through a given surface drainage system per unit time, which is what leads to shocking destruction like this.