AFP :
Torrential storms lashing South Asia have killed hundreds of people since June, official data showed Tuesday, with flooding and landslides causing widespread devastation during the treacherous monsoon season.
Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity. The deaths include at least 250 in India, 171 in Nepal and 178 in Pakistan, according to official data in each country.
In India, just months after the country baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts, ferocious rainstorms have triggered widespread flooding and landslides.
The crushing heatwave in May and June saw temperatures in New Delhi match the capital’s previous record high: 49.2°C clocked in 2022.
Now the heat has been replaced by rains.
India’s weather department this week warned of “heavy rainfall” over much of the south and northeastern states. On Tuesday, rescue teams searched for two missing people after nine drowned when a surge of water smashed through the Una district of Himachal Pradesh state. Witnesses saw a car being swept away like a toy by the swollen muddy river.
“Several people tried to stop the car…as the current was increasing but the car sped past and soon the car was swept away by the strong current,” Rajendra Kumar said. Scores of people have died in India this month alone, while 200 people died in the southern state of Kerala last month when landslides hit villages and tea plantations. In Nepal, 171 people have died since monsoon rains began in mid-June, including 109 people in landslides.