Torrential rain in India’s Himalayas triggered landslides over the weekend that have killed over 50 people, with the death toll expected to rise as more than 20 remain trapped or missing, officials said on Monday.
Unusually heavy rain and melting glaciers have brought deadly flash floods to the mountains of India and neighboring countries over the past year or two, with government officials increasingly blaming climate change.
Cloudbursts are defined as when more than 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) of rainfall occurs within 10 square kilometers (3.8 square miles) within an hour. They are a common occurrence in Himalayan regions, where they have the potential to cause intense flooding and landslides affecting thousands of people.