Historic monsoon season with deadly floods, landslides in India and Pakistan
The monsoon season has been historic across South Asia, with more than 2,300 villages submerged and more than a million people impacted
The South Asian monsoon has caused devastating flooding across parts of India and Pakistan this season.
Torrential rains have forced evacuations, displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes, and triggered deadly landslides in mountainous areas.
While the monsoon happens every year, this year’s floods are unusually severe.
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In Pakistan, approximately 760,000 people and 516,000 animals have been evacuated, and at least 33 people have died in less than a week, reported by Reuters.
Temperatures, winds drive the annual monsoon
A monsoon is a seasonal wind shift that brings heavy, reliable rains to certain parts of the world. Much of South Asia experiences distinct dry and wet seasons. Those wet seasons are driven by monsoon winds blowing into the region.
The topography of India and Pakistan leaves the region especially vulnerable. Coastal mountain ranges lie to the east and west. Combined with the towering Himalayas to the north and the elevated Deccan Plateau, these features all act as barriers that force air upward.
During summer, the land heats much faster than the surrounding ocean. This creates a centre of low pressure over the plateau, pulling in warm, moisture-rich winds from the southwest.
As this air flows up the mountain slopes, it cools and condenses—unleashing intense rainfall.
This year’s monsoon arrived early
South Asia’s monsoon season runs from June through September. This year’s monsoon arrived earlier than expected—with warm sea surface temperatures playing a major role in its arrival.
Excess moisture in the atmosphere played a big role, as well. This means that the atmosphere was primed to produce flooding rains once the centre of low pressure developed.
The Jammu region in northwestern India has seen its highest rainfall since 1950, an official with the India Meteorological Department told Reuters on Wednesday, Aug. 27. The area has reportedly seen more than 700 per cent of its normal rainfall for this time of year.
Monsoon expected to continue into September
Heavy rains will continue into the foreseeable future.
While temperatures may hover around seasonal across the region, potentially feeding the monsoon circulation, the humidity will play a role in making conditions feel much warmer.
Will it dry out anytime soon? Not just yet. While some regions in Pakistan may see breaks, much of northern India will remain unsettled into early September. The flood risk will remain elevated until the monsoon circulation finally begins to weaken late in the month.
Thumbnail courtesy of Aaruksh Singh/Storyful.
With files from Dennis Mersereau, a digital journalist at The Weather Network, and Amandeep Purewal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.