Vulnerability to Cloudbursts

A cloudburst is defined as an intense downpour that lasts only a brief time and is occasionally accompanied by hail and thunder. It is defined by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as unexpected precipitation that exceeds 100mm (or 10 cm) per hour across a region of land that is between 20 and 30 square kilometres. Floods can occur when there is heavy rain, like this.

Cloudbursts:

• Many experts have noted that “Climate change is clearly demonstrated through a rise in cloudbursts in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand”.
• According to IMD, “It is a cloudburst when the amount of rainfall in a particular region exceeds 100 millimetres per hour. The minimum threshold is relatively high, which may be the reason only 30 such occurrences have been recorded between 1970 and 2016. It is said that a ‘mini cloudburst’ occurs when rain between 50 and 100 millimeters occurs within two hours”.
• It is not uncommon for cloudbursts to occur in the Himalayan region in July and August; in 2021, they began early in May.
• A rainfall of 50 mm or more within 2 hours can also be called a mini cloudburst, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Pune). According to its research, “Many cloudbursts happened on the west coast in June 2021, and in central India and the Himalayan valleys in July and August 2021”.
• In addition, the research claims that mini cloudbursts occur more frequently during the early morning. Based on the available data from 1926 to 2015, the researchers also concluded that mini cloudbursts are becoming more frequent.

Mountainous regions are particularly prone to cloudbursts. This is most likely because a mountain’s rising slope is often followed by the warm air currents of a thunderstorm. On mountain slopes, the impacts of heavy rain are particularly noticeable since the falling water is concentrated in valleys and gulleys.