South Asia braces for heightened disaster risks as experts warn of hotter, wetter monsoon, raising flood and landslide threats
KATHMANDU, June 12 — 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 today.
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 Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) yesterday.
'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 per cent 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.
Mount Machapuchare of the Annapurna Himalayan mountain range is pictured from Nepal's Pokhara June 7, 2025. — AFP pic
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 urbanisation, 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. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Rescuers fan out after Nigeria flooding kills more than 150
More than 250 buildings were levelled and two bridges were swept away from Mokwa due to the flash floods. (EPA Images pic) ABUJA : Search teams fanned out several kilometres from the epicentre of deadly flash flooding in Nigeria on Saturday, the Red Cross said, as the death toll from heavy rains in the north-central market town of Mokwa topped 150. The sharp rise in the toll came as bodies were recovered nearly 10km away from the town, where more than 250 buildings were levelled and two bridges were swept away, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the Niger state emergency management agency, told AFP. Husseini warned the toll could rise further, with bodies being swept down the powerful Niger River. Gideon Adamu, head of the Red Cross in Niger state, told AFP that search teams were heading toward Jebba, on the opposite side of the waterway's swampy banks. Mokwa was hit by torrential rains on Wednesday night into Thursday, with the flooding displacing more than 3,000, Husseini said. There were 121 injured in hospital, Adamu said, while more than 100 people were missing. Nigeria's rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year. Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the west African country. Scientists have also warned that climate change is fuelling more extreme weather patterns. 'We can't give up' Roads were still inundated in Mokwa on Friday, an AFP journalist observed, with Husseini saying his team would need excavators to reach bodies feared buried under the rubble. Residents in the town, some 350km by road from the capital Abuja, were still searching for loved ones. In some cases, families were missing a dozen people. Adamu, the Red Cross chief, told AFP 'we can't give up the search as long as there are families crying out'. 'If there were some bodies that were carried away by the flooding, we'll find them in the farmland on the Jebba side.' According to a tally shared by Husseini, 151 people were killed, 3,018 were displaced, 265 houses were destroyed and two bridges were washed away in the busy, rural market town. Mohammed Tanko, 29, a civil servant, pointed to a house he grew up in, telling reporters on Friday: 'We lost at least 15 from this house. The property (is) gone. We lost everything.' Floods in Nigeria are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels. 'This tragic incident serves as a timely reminder of the dangers associated with building on waterways and the critical importance of keeping drainage channels and river paths clear,' the national emergency management agency said in a statement. Complicating the search for missing persons was the presence of a large group of travellers staying overnight in a Mokwa mosque when the rains hit, Adamu said. The building collapsed and it was still unknown where the people had been travelling from. President Bola Tinubu said the disaster response was being aided by security forces. Warning sounded The Nigerian meteorological agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria's 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday. In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria's 36 states, making it one of the country's worst flood seasons in decades, according to NEMA. Describing how she escaped the raging waters, Sabuwar Bala, a 50-year-old yam vendor, told reporters: 'I was only wearing my underwear, someone loaned me all I'm wearing now. I couldn't even save my flip-flops.' 'I can't locate where my home stood because of the destruction,' she said.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
South Asia braces for heightened disaster risks as experts warn of hotter, wetter monsoon, raising flood and landslide threats
KATHMANDU, June 12 — 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 today. 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 Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) yesterday. '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 per cent 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. Mount Machapuchare of the Annapurna Himalayan mountain range is pictured from Nepal's Pokhara June 7, 2025. — AFP pic 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 urbanisation, 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. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
49 killed in South African flooding, children missing
South Africa is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and change. (AFP pic) JOHANNESBURG : The death toll from flooding in eastern parts of South Africa has risen to 49, including four children on a school bus that was swept away, a provincial governor said today. Heavy rainfall, snow and cold winds have particularly affected areas of the Eastern Cape province, with most of the country experiencing brutal winter weather conditions since last week. 'As of now, the stats have escalated to 49' deaths, Eastern Cape premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane told reporters, citing police figures. The dead included four children on a school minibus bus carrying 13 people that was swept away by a flood near the city of Mthatha, Mabuyane said. 'Sadly, four of those learners have been confirmed to be deceased, together with the driver and the conductor of the minibus taxi,' he said. 'Four learners are still missing and are still being looked for.' Three others had been found alive, he said. Mabuyane did not give details of the other victims of the severe winter storm and said the situation was evolving. 'Search and recovery operations are continuing across all affected areas,' he said. The torrential rains over recent days, which also caused landslides, had forced hundreds of families to leave their homes and 'significant damage on critical infrastructures', he said. Yesterday, three children were rescued after spending hours in trees to escape rising waters, authorities said. Lack of resources Several hundred people had been displaced since Monday, mainly from OR Tambo and Amathole districts, with some moved to schools and town halls. Mabuyane told public broadcaster SABC News earlier that only one helicopter was available in the province. 'We need more resources,' he said. 'We have never experienced disasters like this but now it's inevitable with climate change and global warming.' President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that harsh winter conditions 'remain life-threatening' adding that emergency services, including support from the national disaster management centre, were 'giving the requisite attention to crises as they unfold'. He called on South Africans 'to display caution, care and cooperation as the worst impacts of winter weather take effect'. South Africa's national weather service has warned that severe and extreme winter weather conditions would persist until at least the middle of this week. Snow and heavy rainfall are common during winter in South Africa but the country is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and change, which increases the frequency and severity of drought, floods and wildfires, according to the Green Climate Fund.
