The fragile Himalayan ecosystem is collapsing under pressure, with unplanned construction and erratic rainfall worsening disasters.
BY PC Bureau
August 6, 2025 —The serene high-altitude villages of Dharali and Sukhi Top in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district were reduced to disaster zones on Tuesday after multiple cloudbursts triggered flash floods, damaging infrastructure and endangering lives. What appears to be an isolated event is, in reality, part of a growing and disturbing trend — driven by a deadly mix of climate change, geographic vulnerability, and inadequate planning.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines a cloudburst as rainfall exceeding 100 millimetres per hour, usually accompanied by lightning and strong winds, covering an area of 20 to 30 square kilometres. But more recent academic studies offer a more alarming picture. A 2023 research paper from IIT Jammu and the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, published in the International Handbook of Disaster Research, defines it as an intense downpour of 100–250 mm per hour over an area as small as one square kilometre. It’s this limited scale, paired with sudden intensity, that makes cloudbursts particularly lethal — and difficult to predict.
Uttarkashi, situated at an altitude of around 1,160 metres, falls squarely within the danger zone. Most cloudbursts, the study notes, occur between 1,000 and 2,000 metres — often in densely populated valleys of the Indian Himalayas. In fact, it confirms that “cloudburst events per unit area are very high in Uttarakhand” compared to other parts of the Himalayan region.
The recent devastation is only the latest in a string of extreme weather events. On July 26, heavy rain in Rudraprayag led to a landslide that blocked the Kedarnath trekking route, stranding over 1,600 pilgrims. Less than a month earlier, on June 29, a sudden cloudburst at Silai Band on the Barkot-Yamunotri route damaged an under-construction hotel and left several workers missing.
Cloudburst and flash flood in Uttarakhand ….
Praying for everyone’s safety pic.twitter.com/FhDW1DcXUd— KS / Karthigaichelvan S (@karthickselvaa) August 5, 2025
Experts warn that such events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. As global temperatures rise, the atmosphere retains more moisture, releasing it in short, violent bursts — the perfect recipe for cloudbursts and flash floods. The result is a recurring cycle of destruction: homes collapse, roads are washed away, lives are lost, and economic activities — especially pilgrimage and tourism — are severely disrupted.
READ: Flash Floods: 10 Soldiers Missing, 4 Civilians Confirmed Dead in Uttarkashi
The fragile Himalayan ecosystem, already under pressure from deforestation, rapid construction, and unregulated tourism, has little resilience against these abrupt shocks. Yet, policy responses have failed to keep pace. Despite repeated warnings, disaster preparedness, zoning regulations, and early warning systems remain inadequate.
“There is an urgent need for concrete policies, scientific planning, and localised disaster management frameworks,” the 2023 paper stresses — a message that appears to have gone largely unheeded.
What’s needed is a shift from reactive relief to proactive risk reduction. That includes the deployment of micro-level early warning systems, strict regulation of construction in ecologically sensitive zones, community disaster response training, and comprehensive watershed management.
The flash floods in Uttarkashi are not an anomaly. They are symptoms of a systemic crisis — one that will only worsen as the climate crisis accelerates. Without a strategic and science-backed approach to resilience, the cost of inaction will continue to mount, in both human and ecological terms.
