The monsoon has turned ferocious across India’s northern hills, leaving behind a trail of grief and devastation. Landslides and cloudbursts have claimed scores of lives, paralysed pilgrim routes and exposed the fragility of infrastructure in the Himalayan states.
The deadliest blow struck the revered pilgrimage route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, where a landslide killed 34 devotees, and the number is increasing. The path to the temple was immediately closed as teams of rescuers laboured through the debris, searching for survivors and stabilising the track.
Elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, the heavens unleashed their fury on Kishtwar. A sudden cloudburst swept through villages on the Machail Mata route, killing dozens and leaving hundreds missing. Entire hamlets were submerged, homes ripped apart, and roads vanished beneath roaring torrents of mud and stone. Only days later, Kathua district was battered by another cloudburst, claiming further lives, five of them children, and forcing families from their homes as landslides cut off access to entire valleys.
The destruction has not spared Uttarakhand. Harshil, near Dharali village, witnessed a terrifying cloudburst that washed away houses, pilgrims and cattle. At least four were confirmed dead, while many more remain missing as rivers swelled and landslides blocked arterial roads. The threat of a natural dam burst upstream continues to haunt the region.
The eastern Himalayan states have not been spared. In Sikkim, unusually heavy rainfall has caused swelling of rivers, triggering landslides that blocked key highways like NH 10 and disrupted supplies to remote districts. Low-lying areas near the Teesta river basin have been on flood alert, while hill settlements continue to face the risk of sudden cloudbursts.
In Arunachal Pradesh, torrential rain has battered several districts, leading to flash floods that damaged bridges and washed away stretches of road. Landslides have cut off villages in the hilly interiors, compounding challenges for relief operations. The state’s hydropower projects, a crucial source of electricity for the region, have also been affected by siltation and rising river levels.
Heavy rain has battered not just the hill states of the North and Northeast but also major urban centres. Delhi witnessed flash floods that swamped arterial roads and Metro stations, Mumbai grappled with waterlogged streets and paralysed traffic, while Bengaluru saw overflowing lakes inundating IT corridors.
Also read: Climate change redrawing India’s flash flood hotspots, warns IIT
These back-to-back calamities have jolted the country, transforming what should have been a season of rejuvenation into one of despair. Rescue teams drawn from state and national forces are battling around the clock, but the scale of destruction has stretched resources thin. Entire stretches of highway remain impassable, electricity lines dangle over swollen rivers, and thousands of pilgrims and villagers are stranded in makeshift shelters.
The intensity of this year’s monsoon has raised troubling questions. Rainfall patterns across India have shifted dramatically: parched regions such as Rajasthan and Ladakh have recorded surpluses, while traditionally rain-rich states like Meghalaya have endured deficits. Northern India has witnessed an extraordinary surge in extremely heavy rainfall events, overwhelming fragile landscapes and unprepared communities.
Scientists point to climate change as a decisive factor. Rising temperatures have quickened evaporation, sending more moisture into the atmosphere, which then falls in concentrated, destructive bursts. Warmer surface waters in rivers and reservoirs have added to the cycle, driving short but intense cloudbursts. Urbanisation and deforestation have stripped natural floodplains of their resilience, forcing water into destructive channels that obliterate settlements and infrastructure.
Speculation over La Nina’s influence has been widespread, as this weather phenomenon often strengthens India’s monsoon. Yet forecasters emphasise that conditions this year remain neutral, suggesting that the unprecedented rainfall owes more to climate change than to cyclical ocean patterns. The shifting behaviour of the monsoon trough, coupled with warming in the Indian Ocean, appears to be fuelling an unpredictable and dangerous rhythm of rain.
The consequences are stark. Lives have been lost not only to immediate flooding but also to the collapse of essential infrastructure. Bridges have buckled, fibre-optic cables snapped, and power grids disrupted. Pilgrimage economies in places like Katra and Uttarkashi lie in ruins, with businesses shuttered and thousands dependent on relief camps. Agriculture, too, faces ruin as fields are either submerged or scoured clean by torrents.
These tragedies underline the urgent need for preparedness. India requires stronger early-warning systems, improved forecasting, and rigorous land-use planning to limit construction in vulnerable zones. Restoring floodplains, reinforcing riverbanks, and enhancing water management must become priorities. The devastation of August 2025 is a reminder that the monsoon, long celebrated as a lifeline, has been reshaped into a menace by climate shifts and human neglect.
As relief teams continue their race against time in Vaishno Devi, Kishtwar, Kathua and Harshil, the broader challenge remains: to adapt swiftly and decisively to a new monsoon reality, where each year brings with it an ever-greater test of resilience.
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