Flash Floods in India Extend to Pakistan, More Than 100 People Killed

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Flash floods in India due to the overflow of the Yamuna river some time ago have now been recorded as killing more than 100 people. As for the increase in the Yamuna river discharge, it was caused by recent high rainfall.

Reporting from The Independent, Friday (14/7), the floods that previously submerged the Indian capital, New Delhi, are now increasingly expanding to a number of other areas in the vicinity, such as West Rajasthan, Jammu, North Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttakhand.

In Jammu and Kashmir, flooding has washed away several villages, closing major highways and blocking the Indo-Tibetan border road. In fact, it also disrupts communication channels.

Not only that, the floods that occurred in northern Kashmir also penetrated into neighboring Pakistan, which also suffered the same fate. There have been 86 deaths since June 25.

Apart from the floods, landslides have also occurred in the mountainous states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttakhand. The landslides triggered flooding and again claimed lives.

The landslide that occurred in Uttakhand, accompanied by large boulders, has killed at least four people and injured seven people. Meanwhile in Himachal Pradesh, the death toll was recorded at 20 people.

The Chief Minister of State, Sukhvinder Sukhu, said that the floods in India this time were the most severe in more than 50 years.

“This year’s rainy season has raised concerns among experts, who warn that the climate crisis is playing a significant role in the intensification of the extreme weather,” he said.

He explained, high rainfall had started since early June. The Indian Meteorological Department revealed that rainfall in the country has increased by more than 100 percent, causing the Yamuna river’s water discharge to be as high as 205 meters above sea level.

According to Mahesh Palawat, Vice President of Meteorology and Climate Change, this high rainfall is caused by the alignment of three weather systems, namely the western disturbance in the Western Himalayas, the cyclonic circulation in the northwestern plains, and the axis of the monsoon trough crossing the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Not only India and Pakistan, China and Japan also reported extreme weather conditions.

Source : Padek