CLOUDBURSTS

July 30, 2021

On July 28, at least seven people were killed, 17 injured and over 35 missing after a cloudburst hit a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir.

About:

  • Cloudbursts are short-duration, intense rainfall events over a small area.

  • According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km.

  • A study published last year studied the meteorological factors behind the cloudburst over the Kedarnath region.

  • They analysed atmospheric pressure, atmospheric temperature, rainfall, cloud water content, cloud fraction, cloud particle radius, cloud mixing ratio, total cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction, and relative humidity during the cloudburst, before as well as after the cloudburst

  • A 2017 study of cloudbursts in the Indian Himalayas noted that most of the events occurred in the months of July and August.