Heat wave, flooding risks in Hindu Kush region: ICIMOD

The entire Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which includes parts of India, faces temperatures up to 2°C hotter than average this monsoon season, with severe heat wave conditions already gripping the Western Himalayas and experts warning of surging flood risks across a region where three-quarters of all floods occur during summer rains.

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI:

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) issued the forecast on Wednesday, predicting above-average rainfall across India, Nepal, Pakistan and China's Tibetan Autonomous Region alongside the dangerous temperature spike. Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department warned that heat wave to severe heat wave conditions will persist across northwest India, including the Western Himalayan region, until June 13, with temperatures in some areas exceeding 40°C. Extreme heat and rainfall threaten to trigger a cascade of climate disasters across the world's highest mountain range, home to nearly 2 billion people who depend on its glaciers and rivers.