Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Aug 19: Jammu & Kashmir has emerged as one of the most vulnerable regions in the Himalayas to cloudburst events, with experts attributing the phenomenon to a mix of natural topography, climatic conditions, and human-induced pressures on the environment.
Dr Suhaib A. Bandh, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at S.P. College Srinagar, said the Union Territory’s location in the western Himalayas makes it highly prone to such extreme weather events.
“J&K is highly prone to cloudbursts due to its unique topography and climatic conditions. The region lies in the western Himalayas, where steep mountain slopes, deep valleys, and sudden elevation gradients intensify convective activity,” he said.
He said cloudbursts occur when warm, moisture-laden monsoon winds from the Indian plains collide with cooler Himalayan air masses, resulting in localised, high-intensity rainfall within a short duration.
Scientific studies indicate that J&K has witnessed an increasing frequency of such events over the past two decades, Dr Bandh explained.
He further noted that human interference has worsened the impact of these natural events. “Unregulated deforestation, haphazard urbanisation, road widening, and encroachment of floodplains destabilise slopes and reduce the natural absorption capacity of soils. This amplifies flash floods, landslides, and destruction associated with cloudbursts,” he said.
Climate change, driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, further alters precipitation patterns, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, he added.
Offering another scientific perspective, Dr Mudasir Nazir, an environmental expert, explained how the Himalayan terrain itself acts as a trigger. “The high altitude ranges of the Himalayas often prevent clouds from crossing over. Instead, they get reflected back and start assembling layer by layer against the slopes. Due to high levels of moisture, the accumulated cloud mass eventually becomes too heavy to remain suspended in the atmosphere,” he said.
“When it can no longer resist the pull of gravity, it bursts suddenly, releasing intense rainfall over a localised area,” Dr Nazir said, adding that more experimental studies are underway to validate this mechanism.
Both experts said that while cloudbursts are natural to the Himalayan ecosystem, their frequency and devastation have increased due to unchecked human activities and changing climatic trends.
They called for stricter environmental regulations, proper land-use planning, and investment in early warning systems to minimise damage to life and property.
Around 168 cloudburst incidents have been recorded in J&K between 2010 and 2022, with the number expected to rise in the coming years due to climate change.
At least 70 people have lost their lives to recent cloudbursts in the Kishtwar and Kathua districts.
