Extremely heavy rain flood Punjab, over hundred killed, 2.5 million forced to flee

Over 100 people have been killed in Pakistan and at least 55 in India, in Punjab floods.

Punjab Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said 2,303 villages required urgent relief and resettlement, PTI reported 

The Hindu reported people were anxious after suffering massive loss of farm produce and jobs.

Around 2.5 million people have been forced to flee in Pakistan’s Punjab province, reported TOI and the Dawn. The newspapers reported that the whole province is on the move. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has deployed “1,500 boats …to rescue stranded families living along the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers,” the report said.  

Down to Earth analysed data for 33 days (August 1 to September 3) and found that rescue and relief started only after huge losses occurred and pressure increased on officials. In India, farmers will get compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre, exemption on loans for 6 months and they can sell soil and silt deposited in their fields, the state government said. 

Punjab, Himachal, Uttrakhand: Extreme weather batter north India this monsoon,  data from states reveal 

Punjab has averaged 400% more rainfall in the last fortnight of August than its normal, reported Down to Earth.  

The outlet said “Himachal Pradesh broke all records as heavy and extremely heavy rain lashed” the Himalayan state for over 90% of the days in the past three months. 

“Himachal Pradesh, which is upstream of Punjab, has experienced incessant rains and between August 28 and September 3, the state saw over 300% more rainfall than the weekly average…wiping out livelihoods, property and years of developmental investments,” the report said.  

This monsoon season, “the western disturbances seem to have developed a fever. Instead of the occasional one or two which would come during the southwest monsoon, there have been 19 till the first week of September this year. These winds are literally colliding with the winds of monsoon,” wrote Sunita Narain of DTE.

Cloudbursts are being made “scapegoats” for India’s floods

Heavy rains that triggered flash floods and landslides in the Himalayan states were wrongly identified as cloudbursts in the media, the phenomenon has been made a scapegoat to mask systemic failures ignoring the role of “fragile slopes, deforestation, road-cutting and unregulated construction,” reported Dialogue Earth. 

The outlet explained: “Unplanned and rampant infrastructure development in the region plays a significant role in these disasters…When rains flow down from the hills, they bring with them mud and stones, mixed in with construction waste from road-building projects. Such waste is often dumped in rivers and along slopes in the Himalayas. This combination can cause devastating flash floods in areas surrounding the rivers.” Simplifying the cause of these disasters as cloudbursts or landslides isn’t good enough, “every heavy rain of less than 100 mm in one hour occurring in 2-3 hours can cause these flash floods, this is especially true with rain in the mountains.” The report said quoting scientist. 

Mohd Farooq Azam, scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Disasters in the region points out:

In recent years, the South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood in 2023 and the Til village flash flood in May 2025 were primarily caused by permafrost-linked landslides. The Chamoli disaster (2021) in Uttarakhand was variously called a cloudburst and a glacial lake outburst flood. But the real trigger had been a massive rock-ice avalanche, starting at 5,500 metres and cascading into two rivers, ICIMOD explained. 

The 2013 Kedarnath flooding, one of India’s worst disasters, with over 6,000 deaths, was initially labelled a cloudburst, a descriptor denied by the IMD days later. Subsequent studies found the event to be a combination of extreme, sustained rainfall linked to snowmelt and overflow from an upstream lake. The lack of automatic rain gauge or hourly measurements meant the occurrence of cloudburst could not be determined. The flood’s impact was exacerbated by debris from landslides and collapsed riverbanks rushing 

Apples rot in hundreds of trucks as landslides and heavy rain block key Kashmir highway 

Excessive rainfall and landslides triggered by rain in Kashmir blocked major highways unleashing huge losses on Kashmir’s apple industry. Hundreds of apple trucks were stranded after the closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Qazigund.  1,500 apple laden trucks, right from Anantnag outskirts up to Qazigund tunnel are lined up waiting for a green signal, HT reported. There is no railway cargo service for Kashmir fruit produce. 

The newspaper said the growers have already suffered losses worth ₹500 to 700 crore because of blocked roads. Usually in September and October around 2,000 to 2,500 apple trucks are dispatched across the country. The highway condition has forced farmers to delay harvest and close wholesale markets in Kashmir.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah assured a delegation of fruit dealers that the introduction of Railway Cargo Service for fruit produce of Kashmir has already been raised with the Union Railway Ministry. 

‘Landmark’ report’s grim warning: Rising sea levels will threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050

A “horrifying” climate report warned that “one and a half million Australians living in coastal areas are at risk from rising sea levels by 2050”, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. BBC said: “Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment predicted more frequent and severe climate hazards like floods, cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires. The study  looked at three global warming scenarios – above 1.5°C, above 2°C and above 3°C. The 72-page report – released days before the government announces its emissions reduction targets for 2035 – found that no Australian community will be immune from climate risks that will be ‘cascading, compounding and concurrent’.” The country’s climate change minister Chris Bowen used the report to call for a “strong 2035 emissions reduction target, The Guardian reported. News.com.au also carried the news, warning that “property values could dive by up to A$500bn by 2050 as homes become uninsurable and floods, cyclones and bushfires lay siege to Australia, according to a grim new climate risk assessment.” 

Protect Arctic from ‘dangerous’ climate engineering, scientists warn

Attempts to tackle climate change by “manipulating the Arctic and Antarctic environment are dangerous, unlikely to work and could distract from the need to ditch fossil fuels”,  BBC News reported. The report is based on findings of a group of “more than 40 researchers”. The report noted that polar “geoengineering” techniques designed to cool the planet through artificially thickening sea-ice or releasing reflective particles into the atmosphere have “gained attention”. 

The Guardian also covered the research and said polar geoengineering schemes are “so flawed that no amount of research could resolve them and that they treat only the symptoms and not the causes of the climate emergency”. The Times report on the study said the UK government is spending £10m to see if Arctic ice could be thickened by pumping seawater onto the surface over winter months.

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