Heavy Downpours and Flooding Kill Dozens Across South Asia

Torrential rainfall and floods have killed more than 200 people and displaced millions across South Asia, the result of more frequent extreme weather and rapid urbanization that has pushed people into flood-prone areas.

In recent days, more than 100 people were killed in India alone and nearly 40 died in Afghanistan. Flooding and landslides have killed more than 100 people in Nepal in recent weeks. In Bangladesh, more than two million people were affected when dangerous flooding after heavy rains caused major rivers to overflow.

Swollen rivers have breached embankments, particularly in India and Bangladesh, ravaging buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. Rains have also destroyed villages and crops.

Floods are not unusual in South Asia, home to about one quarter of the world’s population. Every year, the monsoon season, which usually begins in June and lasts until September, brings rains that are crucial for millions of farmers in India and other South Asian countries. But in recent years, climate change has amplified flood threats.

Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, a research center, said extreme rainfall events in India have tripled since 1950, according to his research.