<p>Days after an extreme climate event washed away a village in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, leaving many dead and missing, two fresh cloudbursts have occurred in Jammu and Kashmir. </p>.<p>As many as 65 people were killed in Chishoti village in Kishtwar district and seven people lost their lives in Jod Ghati village in Kathua district when floods caused by cloudbursts washed away many buildings. A number of people are missing. Rescue operations are continuing. The Kishtwar disaster is the biggest in recent times in Kashmir and neighbouring states. Heavy rainfall has hindered the rescue operations. More adverse weather events have been predicted. </p>.<p>Cloudbursts, floods and other climate disasters have hit large areas of the Himalayan region in the last few days. At least 321 people were killed when more than 10 villages in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan were devastated by flash flooding last week. Damaged roads and landslides have prevented rescue workers from reaching the area. </p>.<p>Monsoon-related disasters have claimed many lives in Nepal. What binds the entire region are the Himalayan ranges, which have suffered from excessive developmental activity. Pakistan has seen devastating floods in the past few years caused by excessive rains and the melting of glaciers.<br>It was claimed once that a third of Pakistan was under water, though this may have been an exaggeration. Nepal and Bangladesh and India’s North-East have also suffered from extreme weather events such as excessive rainfall, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), earthquakes and droughts. </p>.<p>All this is said to be the result of climate change aggravated by deforestation and construction activity. More and more houses, buildings and roads are being built and forests are being cleared for residential and commercial use. Vegetation lines have shifted and biodiversity is under stress. Lives and livelihoods are in danger. It will take many generations to rebuild the land and forests now being destroyed. </p>.<p>The fragile nature of the Himalayan ecology is well known but the knowledge has not translated into policies and action. Over a billion people rely on the Himalayas for their livelihood and the essentials of life, such as water, food, and energy. The signs of stress are getting worse every year and we will soon reach a stage when reversing the situation will be difficult. </p>.<p>A politician expressed the situation in Kishtwar in poignant poetry: “The hills mourn, the birds wait in despair, the winds howl warnings, and the rivers weep—nature is screaming for justice’’. But governments and politicians have not cared much about justice for nature. </p>
<p>Days after an extreme climate event washed away a village in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, leaving many dead and missing, two fresh cloudbursts have occurred in Jammu and Kashmir. </p>.<p>As many as 65 people were killed in Chishoti village in Kishtwar district and seven people lost their lives in Jod Ghati village in Kathua district when floods caused by cloudbursts washed away many buildings. A number of people are missing. Rescue operations are continuing. The Kishtwar disaster is the biggest in recent times in Kashmir and neighbouring states. Heavy rainfall has hindered the rescue operations. More adverse weather events have been predicted. </p>.<p>Cloudbursts, floods and other climate disasters have hit large areas of the Himalayan region in the last few days. At least 321 people were killed when more than 10 villages in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan were devastated by flash flooding last week. Damaged roads and landslides have prevented rescue workers from reaching the area. </p>.<p>Monsoon-related disasters have claimed many lives in Nepal. What binds the entire region are the Himalayan ranges, which have suffered from excessive developmental activity. Pakistan has seen devastating floods in the past few years caused by excessive rains and the melting of glaciers.<br>It was claimed once that a third of Pakistan was under water, though this may have been an exaggeration. Nepal and Bangladesh and India’s North-East have also suffered from extreme weather events such as excessive rainfall, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), earthquakes and droughts. </p>.<p>All this is said to be the result of climate change aggravated by deforestation and construction activity. More and more houses, buildings and roads are being built and forests are being cleared for residential and commercial use. Vegetation lines have shifted and biodiversity is under stress. Lives and livelihoods are in danger. It will take many generations to rebuild the land and forests now being destroyed. </p>.<p>The fragile nature of the Himalayan ecology is well known but the knowledge has not translated into policies and action. Over a billion people rely on the Himalayas for their livelihood and the essentials of life, such as water, food, and energy. The signs of stress are getting worse every year and we will soon reach a stage when reversing the situation will be difficult. </p>.<p>A politician expressed the situation in Kishtwar in poignant poetry: “The hills mourn, the birds wait in despair, the winds howl warnings, and the rivers weep—nature is screaming for justice’’. But governments and politicians have not cared much about justice for nature. </p>
