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Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly digest by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change programme and Down to Earth.
On August 5, flash floods triggered by torrential rain tore through Dharali town in the state of Uttarakhand, killing at least four people with dozens feared missing. This comes days after over 180 people died in Himachal Pradesh due to landslides and floods. The floods in Dharali engulfed homes and hotels, sweeping away people and infrastructure. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued further warnings of downpours in Uttarakhand.
CSE and Down to Earth’s “India’s Atlas on Weather Disasters” shows the scale of weather-linked devastation across the Himalayan region. The region experienced extreme weather events such as severe rain, floods and landslides on 822 days since 2022—or nearly seven out of every ten days over the past three years. These weather extremes killed 2,863 people across 13 states and Union Territories. Experts have warned that unplanned construction coupled with melting glaciers and erratic rainfall are increasing such disasters in the Himalayas.
On the other hand, while many parts of the country are facing above-normal rainfall due to an early monsoon, data provided by India’s Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) has shown that 19 per cent of India is under drought or drought-like conditions. The degree of drought differs from region to region, with dry conditions ranging from ‘abnormal’, ‘moderate’, ‘severe’, ‘extreme’ and ‘exceptional’. The DEWS indicates that parts of Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam are experiencing extreme and exceptional drought. Further, the aridity anomaly outlook index by IMD has shown that 29 per cent of districts in India are facing arid conditions—an indication of water stress and agricultural drought.
Lastly, a new study published in Nature has revealed that European forests are declining in their capacity to act as carbon sinks. The study observed that increased harvest rates, higher natural disturbances, reduced afforestation and slower growth owing to climate change are affecting the forests’ capacity to capture carbon. Forests are Europe’s primary carbon sinks, covering 40 per cent of the landmass and absorbing 10 per cent of Europe’s anthropogenic emissions between 1990 and 2022. However, the ability of forests to sequester carbon sank by 27 per cent between 2010-2014 and 2020-2022. The authors warned that rapid reductions in the carbon sequestration provided by forests will threaten Europe’s climate targets.
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By - Upamanyu Das
Climate Change, CSE
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| EXTREME WEATHER TRACKER |
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The Himalayas are becoming monsoon graveyards, 07 August 2025
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Monsoon rains declining in Barak-Meghna basin as climate change alters flood cycles, 01 August 2025
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