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Arab News
2 days ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Why cloudbursts have killed hundreds in Pakistan and India this monsoon season
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck Pakistan and India during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered. WHAT ARE CLOUDBURSTS AND WHY DO THEY OCCUR? By a widely accepted definition, a cloudburst means more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rainfall in one hour, over a small area. This year, the monsoon, which originates in the Bay of Bengal and then sweeps westwards across northern India to Pakistan every summer, has brought deadly cloudbursts. Weather studies say cloudbursts typically occur in South Asia when warm, monsoon winds, laden with moisture, meet the cold mountain air in the north of India and Pakistan, causing condensation. With a warming planet, the monsoon has hotter air, which can carry more moisture. India's weather department data shows cloudbursts are most common in the Himalayan regions of Indian Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Berlin-based Climate Analytics, said that in the mountains of northern Pakistan, the warm monsoon system coming from the east was meeting colder air coming from the west, from the subtropical jet stream - a high-altitude weather system that originates in the Mediterranean. Global warming is pushing this jet stream further south in summer, he said, where it can now combine with the lower-level clouds of the monsoon in Pakistan, forming a tower of clouds which then generatesg intense rain. Similar intense rainfall, though triggered by different local factors, takes place around the world, such as the floods in Texas in July, when more than 300 mm of rain fell in less than an hour, sending a wall of water down the Guadalupe River. WHY IS THE REGION BEING HIT SO BADLY BY CLOUDBURSTS? This monsoon season has so far seen at least four major deadly cloudbursts, including in Uttarakhand, India, where video captured the moment when village buildings were swept down a mountain, and in Buner, in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan, where more than 200 people died after at least 150 mm of rain fell within an hour. S D Sanap, a scientist with the India Meteorological Department's Pune office, said such cloudburst events were becoming more frequent in the western Himalayas, which run across India and into Pakistan, but pinning the rise on a single cause was not easy. The cloudburst events on both sides of the border were triggered the same way: very moist monsoon air, upslope winds, and storms that stalled over valleys, said Moetasim Ashfaq, a weather expert based in the U.S. If a cloudburst happens over flat land, the rainfall spreads over a wide area, so the impact is less severe, said Pradeep Dangol, a senior hydrology research associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Nepal. But in steep mountain valleys, the rain is concentrated into narrow streams and slopes, with the potential to trigger flash floods and landslides, he said. CAN CLOUDBURSTS BE PREDICTED? Forecasting such events days in advance is nearly impossible, though radars can track the build-up of dense cloud formations and give short-term warnings of intense downpours, Sanap said. To strengthen monitoring, the India Meteorological Department has installed new radars across the Himalayas and set up observatories aimed at improving early warnings and understanding of these extreme weather events. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, who leads risk assessment at Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, part of the government, said that it was possible to warn about the general area but not possible to pinpoint the exact location in advance where a cloudburst will happen.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Why cloudbursts have killed hundreds in Pakistan and India this monsoon season
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck Pakistan and India during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered. By a widely accepted definition, a cloudburst means more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rainfall in one hour, over a small area. This year, the monsoon, which originates in the Bay of Bengal and then sweeps westwards across northern India to Pakistan every summer, has brought deadly cloudbursts. Weather studies say cloudbursts typically occur in South Asia when warm, monsoon winds, laden with moisture, meet the cold mountain air in the north of India and Pakistan, causing condensation. With a warming planet, the monsoon has hotter air, which can carry more moisture. India's weather department data shows cloudbursts are most common in the Himalayan regions of Indian Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Berlin-based Climate Analytics, said that in the mountains of northern Pakistan, the warm monsoon system coming from the east was meeting colder air coming from the west, from the subtropical jet stream - a high-altitude weather system that originates in the Mediterranean. Global warming is pushing this jet stream further south in summer, he said, where it can now combine with the lower-level clouds of the monsoon in Pakistan, forming a tower of clouds which then generatesg intense rain. Similar intense rainfall, though triggered by different local factors, takes place around the world, such as the floods in Texas in July, when more than 300 mm of rain fell in less than an hour, sending a wall of water down the Guadalupe River. This monsoon season has so far seen at least four major deadly cloudbursts, including in Uttarakhand, India, where video captured the moment when village buildings were swept down a mountain, and in Buner, in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan, where more than 200 people died after at least 150 mm of rain fell within an hour. S D Sanap, a scientist with the India Meteorological Department's Pune office, said such cloudburst events were becoming more frequent in the western Himalayas, which run across India and into Pakistan, but pinning the rise on a single cause was not easy. The cloudburst events on both sides of the border were triggered the same way: very moist monsoon air, upslope winds, and storms that stalled over valleys, said Moetasim Ashfaq, a weather expert based in the U.S. If a cloudburst happens over flat land, the rainfall spreads over a wide area, so the impact is less severe, said Pradeep Dangol, a senior hydrology research associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Nepal. But in steep mountain valleys, the rain is concentrated into narrow streams and slopes, with the potential to trigger flash floods and landslides, he said. Forecasting such events days in advance is nearly impossible, though radars can track the build-up of dense cloud formations and give short-term warnings of intense downpours, Sanap said. To strengthen monitoring, the India Meteorological Department has installed new radars across the Himalayas and set up observatories aimed at improving early warnings and understanding of these extreme weather events. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, who leads risk assessment at Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, part of the government, said that it was possible to warn about the general area but not possible to pinpoint the exact location in advance where a cloudburst will happen.
Times of Oman
17-07-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
India hosts 4th BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise for cyclones, floods
New Delhi: India virtually hosted the 4th BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise from July 14-15, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement on Wednesday. As per the MEA, the Exercise was organised by the National Disaster Management Authority of India as a Tabletop Exercise. It witnessed the participation of disaster management professionals from BIMSTEC Member States to assess and enhance regional preparedness for cyclones and floods. MEA said that the participants presented details of national disaster management architectures, engaged in simulated scenarios, evaluated response frameworks and shared best practices to strengthen coordination for disaster response across the region. The details of the Exercise were also shared by BIMSTEC in a post on X. India has always stood by its partners in the region as the first responder in times of crisis. The Exercise further strengthened cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region towards disaster preparedness, response and resilience. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a grouping of seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal. MEA in an official statement had noted that BIMSTEC is a unique link connecting South Asia with South-East Asia - five Members from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two from South-East Asia (Myanmar and Thailand). The BIMSTEC region brings together 1.7 billion people - 22 per cent of world population with a combined GDP of USD 5 trillion. The organization came into existence on June 6, 1997 through the 'Bangkok Declaration'. It was originally formed with four Member States with the acronym 'BIST-EC' (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following inclusion of Myanmar in December 1997, it was renamed 'BIMST-EC' (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). With the inclusion of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004, the name of the grouping was changed to BIMSTEC. (
Arab News
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
‘Bay of Bengal live': Bangladeshi fishermen go viral showing life at sea
DHAKA: When Shahid Sardar started his Facebook page four years ago, he wanted to share his experience aboard a fishing boat. He did not expect the millions of views he would soon attract as he tapped into a content niche that is rapidly gaining popularity among Bangladeshis: life at sea. Sardar, 35, lives with his wife and son in the coastal Chittagong district in south-eastern Bangladesh. He started to work as a fisherman in 2013, after leaving a job at a hospital canteen in the capital, Dhaka. As the chief cook on a vessel with a 50-member crew, Sardar sails across the Bay of Bengal on month-long voyages in search of fish. When his videos documenting deep-sea fishing methods and daily life on the boat began gaining traction, he expanded his content to show various marine species found in Bangladeshi waters — many of which are not widely known. 'I think people generally enjoy fish, especially the kinds caught at sea, which are not usually found in local markets,' Sardar told Arab News. 'The beauty of the deep sea also draws people to my videos. For most viewers, these sights are rare and unfamiliar. They don't have this experience themselves.' Posting as BD Fisherman on Facebook, he has more than 360,000 followers. His other account, Fisherman Shahid, has another 240,000. When two of his videos went viral in December 2023, Facebook approved monetization for his page. 'My first video that went viral showed a bulk of yellowfin tuna and some shrimp. The fish were just dropped on the deck ... it was the rainy season. People liked that video a lot. Within 24 hours, it got 3 million views,' he said. 'As I started receiving some money from the videos, I became more motivated to keep uploading and people started liking my videos more and more.' He now earns an average of about $500 a month from his two pages. That is in addition to his salary of $120 per voyage, plus bonuses based on the catch — about 60 cents per tonne of fish sold in the market. 'In my locality, everyone knows me as Fisherman Shahid. Wherever I go, people come to me just to know how they can earn through making videos and posting them on social media platforms,' Sardar said. 'Recently, the friends of my 7th-grader son also visited my home to learn about my video making.' While for fellow fishers, Sardar's content has been an inspiration to start their own pages, for some other followers, like Zaved Ahmed, a Bangladeshi migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, watching his videos is a reminder of his own roots. 'I was born in Cox's Bazar, a coastal area of Bangladesh, and fishing was our family's profession. Since 2023, I have been living in Jeddah, which is on the coast of the Red Sea. It seems that sea life is something in my blood. That's why I love watching Sardar's videos,' he said. 'Whenever I watch his videos, my mind travels to the sea with the fishing boat, as if I were experiencing it with my own eyes.' But most of those who follow Sardar and other fishermen-influencers have never experienced life at sea. Watching it on their mobile or laptop screens helps them connect with the sector that each year contributes about 3.5 percent to Bangladesh's GDP and is the main source of animal protein in the Bangladeshi diet. 'I think most people generally love the sea, but they don't have the opportunity to witness the mysteries of the deep sea,' said Karimul Maola, a follower of Sardar from Chittagong. 'Through Sardar's videos, I've learned about many seafish that were previously unknown to me. Also, his videos have given me some idea about how a fishing vessel normally operates — something most people don't know about.' There is a similar sentiment among the followers of other Bangladeshi fishermen who have shot to social media fame. On the page of Ehsanul Haque Shaon, a fisherman who has 172,000 followers on Facebook, one follower says watching his video was 'like the Bay of Bengal live in front of my eyes!' while another says in amazement that watching the content made them realize that 'life is very interesting.' 'How we survive on a boat in the Bay of Bengal,' a video on Fishiib, a YouTube channel focusing on showing the life of fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, has received more than 10 million views in six months. 'I am truly amazed by how these fishermen adapt to life at sea. They face constant challenges like harsh weather and limited resources, yet they find ways to survive and thrive,' one viewer said. 'Their resilience and ability to work together as a community is truly inspiring. It's a glimpse into a way of life that most of us can only imagine.'
Washington Post
21-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Indians stretch, breathe and balance to mark International Day of Yoga
NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of people across India stretched in public parks and on sandy beaches Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga. The mass yoga sessions were held in many Indian states, where crowds attempted various poses and practiced breathing exercises. Indian military personnel also performed yoga in the icy heights of Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas and on naval ships anchored in the Bay of Bengal.
