Disasters Loom over South Asia with Forecast of Hotter, Wetter Monsoon
Communities across Asia's Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned on Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to be up to two degrees Celsius hotter than average across the region, with forecasts for above-average rains, according to a monsoon outlook released by Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on Wednesday.
"Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, and have longer-term impacts on glaciers, snow reserves, and permafrost," Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a senior adviser at ICIMOD, said in a statement.
The summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region that is home to around two billion people.
However, it also brings destruction through landslides and floods every year. Melting glaciers add to the volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.
"What we have seen over the years are also cascading disasters where, for example, heavy rainfall can lead to landslides, and landslides can actually block rivers. We need to be aware about such possibilities," Saswata Sanyal, manager of ICIMOD's Disaster Risk Reduction work, told AFP.
Last year's monsoon season brought devastating landslides and floods across South Asia and killed hundreds of people, including more than 300 in Nepal.
This year, Nepal has set up a monsoon response command post, led by its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
"We are coordinating to stay prepared and to share data and alerts up to the local level for early response. Our security forces are on standby for rescue efforts," said agency spokesman Ram Bahadur KC.
Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanization, is increasing their frequency and severity.
The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a "distress signal" of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Heavy rains, lightning strikes kill at least six people in Pakistan's northwest
ISLAMABAD: Heavy rains and lightning strikes killed at least six people and injured five others in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province this week, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Sunday. A total of seven houses were damaged due to rains, strong winds and flash floods that have lashed the province since June 20, according to a PDMA report. The accidents occurred in Mansehra, Buner, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Malakand and Kohistan districts of the province. 'The deceased include three men, one woman and two children, while the injured include three men and two women,' it said. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) this week forecast pre-monsoon rains in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab and KP from June 20 till June 23. 'The PDMA has already issued a letter to the district administrations to remain alert and take preventive measures,' it added. Last month, rains and thunderstorms killed at least 26 people in KP and Punjab provinces, authorities said. Pakistan has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns which have led to frequent heat waves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones and droughts in recent years. Scientists have blamed the events on human-driven climate change. In 2022, devastating floods, blamed on human-driven climate change, killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected another 33 million and caused the country over $30 billion in economic losses.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Rain Halts Play in Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Cricket Match With Draw Looking Likely in Galle
Rain forced an early lunch on the final day of the first cricket test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Saturday, frustrating Bangladesh's hopes of pushing for a rare victory away from home. Just 80 minutes of play was possible on Saturday morning before the showers began, bringing a halt to what promised to be an absorbing final day. With dark clouds and covers firmly in place, the umpires sensibly called for an early lunch. Bangladesh, which has won only seven of its 66 away tests, held the upper hand at the end of Day 4 by reaching 177–3 in its second innings to lead by 187 runs. Bangladesh extended its second-innings score to 237 for four – a lead of 247 – before the weather turned Saturday. The only wicket to fall Saturday morning was the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim, who fell agonizingly short of a half-century, run out for 49 in the last play before the interruption. Mushfiqur nudged a shot to mid-on and set off in pursuit of his half-century. But debutant Tharindu Rathnayake swooped on the ball and rifled in a bullet throw to catch the batter just short. At the other end, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was 89 not out. The left-hander has marshaled the innings with poise, guiding his team into a position of strength. With six wickets still in hand and a healthy cushion on the board, Bangladesh is well ahead in the game. But the looming threat wasn't spin or reverse swing, but the weather.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Morocco says 2024 ‘hottest year' on record
RABAT: The year 2024 was Morocco's hottest on record, the North African country's meteorological agency said on Friday, mirroring the record surface temperatures measured globally. In an annual report, the agency said it recorded an average temperature anomaly of +1.49 degrees Celsius (+2.7 Fahrenheit) last year compared to the 1991-2020 period. 'The year 2024 stands out as the hottest ever recorded in Morocco,' it said, adding that every month in 2024, excluding June and September, had been hotter than the average for the 1991-2020 reference period. Several cities broke daily heat records, with 47.6 degrees Celsius (117.7 Fahrenheit) in Marrakech and 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) in Beni Mellal in July last year, the agency said. It also noted 'an increase in thermal anomalies, particularly during the autumn and winter seasons.' Morocco's all-time heat record was set in August 2023, when temperatures hit 50.4 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Agadir. The country, which is enduring a seventh straight year of drought, registered an average rainfall deficit of -24.7 percent last year, the report said. The agency said last year's data reflected 'an amplification of climate contrasts in Morocco, where prolonged droughts alternate with episodes of extreme precipitation.' Torrential rains in September 2024 — causing floods and killing 18 people — 'did not reverse the overall rainfall deficit,' it added. Moroccan climatologist Mohammed-Said Karrouk, who also heads Morocco's National Future Planet Committee, warned that the kingdom's geography and climate make it more vulnerable to temperature extremes. He said warming was now observed in all seasons. 'In autumn, lingering summer heat combined with gradually cooling temperatures favors violent downpours, which have become more dangerous due to excess humidity in the atmosphere,' he said. 'In winter, the heat originating mostly from warming tropical oceans now influences North Africa as well.' A former member of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Karrouk also warned of a recent intensification of the West African monsoon — a seasonal wind system that brings moist air from the Atlantic Ocean — which he linked to the deadly September floods. He called for the construction of shelters to protect vulnerable populations and dams to capture water — a valuable resource with Morocco's unrelenting drought. Weather extremes have taken a toll on farming, a vital sector for Morocco which employs nearly a third of its active population and accounts for 12 percent of GDP. Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. Fuelled by human-driven climate change, 2024 was the warmest year on record globally — and 2025 is projected to rank among the top three.
