Cloudburst – Definition, Impacts and Prevention

A cloudburst is the maximum volume of precipitation in a short time. Hailstorms and thunder occasionally accompany it. It is effective in creating floods. Cloudbursts can quickly create large amounts of water. But, they are rare because they occur only when a huge amount of air is lifted by geographical aspects like a line of hills or a mountain range. Generally, cloudbursts do not last for more than a few minutes.

Cloudbursts happen when drenched clouds cannot cause rain because of the rising movement of the extremely hot current of air. Rather than falling, raindrops get larger in dimension and are forced up because of the air current. Finally, they will be heavier to carry and fall, leading to more rainfall than normal.

CloudBurst

What is Cloudburst?

Cloudburst refers to a geo-hydrological hazard. The huge scale and destruction of rainfall cannot be dangerous and in India, cloudburst occurs mostly during the times of South-West monsoon from the months of June. Cloudbursts can’t be predicted easily as they are sudden catastrophic forces and inflict huge losses in the form of erosion.

Cloudburst Definition

Cloudburst is a sudden and intense weather event characterized by heavy rainfall over a short period of time, typically within a few minutes to an hour.

How does Cloudburst Occur?

A cloudburst mostly occurs in mountainous regions where the warm air currents rise from the ground towards the clouds and carry the falling of raindrops along with it. Thus, the spontaneity of rainfall fails to occur and the clouds have extensive condensation. There is an accumulation of a large amount of water along higher altitudes and warm air from below kind of restricts the fall of water. Upward currents tend to become weak and waterfalls on a single stretch The energy for downpour comes from the movement of air upwards and cloudburst occurs at an elevation of 1000 to 2,500 meters above sea level.

Properties of a cloudburst

The properties of a cloudburst are as follows-

• A rainfall rate that is equal to 100 mm or more than 100 mm per hour is a cloudburst.
• The Swedish Weather Service describes the Swedish term ‘Skyfall’ as 1 mm per minute for short bursts and 50 mm per hour for long-lasting rainfalls. The corresponding conducting cloud can go up to a height of 15 km from the ground level.
• During the time of a cloudburst, more than 20 mm of rain can fall in a short duration of time. The results can be devastating. They are responsible for flash floods.

Examples of Cloudburst in India

• The Alaknanda Valley saw a severe flood in July 1970. This resulted in a cloudburst on the night of 20th July 1970 on the southern mountainfront in the Alaknanda Valley. Floods carried about 15.9 × 106 tonnes of sediment in a day. On August 17th, 1998, a huge landslide causing heavy rain and a cloudburst at Malpa village killed 250 people, including 60 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims in Kali valley of the Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand. On July 6th, 2004, 17 people were killed and 28 people were injured when three vehicles were swept into the Alaknanda River by heavy landslides caused by a cloudburst that left nearly 5,000 pilgrims helpless near the Badrinath shrine area in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. On August 7th, 2009, 38 people were killed in a landslide caused by a cloudburst in the Nachni area near Munsiyari in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. On September 15th, 2010, a cloudburst caused two villages to submerge in Almora in Uttarakhand. On September 14th, 2013, a cloudburst in Ukhimath killed 39 people in the Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand. On June 15th, 2013, a cloudburst happened in the Kedarnath and Rambara region of Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand. Over 1,000 people were killed. Thousands of people were still missing as of June 30, 2013.
• On September 29th, 2010, a cloudburst left many people injured and a number of vehicles and buildings damaged due to the corresponding flash floods in NDA, Khadakwasla, Pune, in Maharashtra. Again on October 4th, 2010, a cloudburst in Pashan, Pune, in Maharashtra caused the death of 4 people, many people injured and a number of vehicles and buildings damaged, it is the highest record of rainfall in intensity and quantity in Pune city, in about 118 years old of October 24, 1892. On October 4th, 2010, a cloudburst occurred in Pashan, Pune. It is the world’s first predicted cloudburst. But even after taking the necessary steps and precautions, four people died in one young scientist was also there. On July 30th, 2014, a landslide occurred in Malin, located in Ambegaon taluka in the Pune district of India. The landslide hit the village in the early morning while all its residents were still sleeping. It killed 20 people.
• On June 9th, 2011, a cloudburst in Jammu left four people dead and several injured on the Doda-Batote highway. On September 15th, 2011, a cloudburst happened in the Palam area of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It was the highest rainfall in the city since 1959.
• On July 31, 2014, a cloudburst happened in the Tehri Garhwal district of Jharkhand. Nearly four people were dead.
• On September 6th, 2014, a cloudburst in the Kashmir valley killed more than 200 people. On July 20th, 2017, a cloudburst occurred in Thathri town of Doda district, killing 6 people. On July 28th, 2021, a cloudburst happened in Hunzar hamlet in the Dachhan area of Kishtwar district which resulted in the death of 26 persons, and 17 people injured. On 8th July 2022, a cloudburst happened at Pahalgam en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.
• On December 2nd, 2015, Chennai recorded 494 mm of rainfall causing the 2015 South India floods.
• On May 4th, 2018, a cloudburst occurred above Belagavi, Karnataka. It reported 95mm of rain in an hour.
• On October 20th, 2021, a cloudburst happened above Pethanaickenpalayam town of Salem district, Tamil Nadu. It recorded 213 mm of rain in one day. The Vasishta Nadi flooded due to this.
• In the Monsoon session of 2023, there has been a large surge in cloudbursts seen across several regions of Himachal Pradesh, especially in places like Mandi, Solan, and Shimla leading to the loss of many lives and substantial damage to local infrastructure.

After Effects of Cloudbursts

The impacts caused by the cloudburst disaster were huge. The effects will be:

• Households will be affected.
• Loss of lives of humans and animals.
• Loss of buildings and property damage.
• Loss of forests.
• Loss of current crops and fruits.
• Loss of cultivable land.
• Loss of bridges and flyovers.

Cloud Observatories in India

India is considered a monsoon-oriented country on the global climate map. There have been a number of incidents of cloudburst that have been recorded across the western Himalayas and the west coast of India in recent years. The Cloud Observatories in India is a network of four high-altitude physics observatories that are installed in different locations in India to study cloud and rain dynamics over high-altitude regions using cutting-edge equipment. The goal of cloud observatories in India is to collect a better understanding of the interactions between clouds, convection, and circulation, as well as knowledge of forecasting and monitoring cloudburst incidents in high-altitude regions and helping to minimize the damage.

• In order to prevent and forecast cloudburst incidents over the Himalayan region, a Himalayan Cloud Observatory was established in the Swami Ram Tirth Campus (SRT), Tehri district of Uttarakhand, however is now in the testing period.
• It is the country’s second high-altitude observatory, built by the Indian Science and Technology Department and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

FAQs on Cloudburst

What is cloudburst?

Cloudbursts refer to the intense rainfall over a given geographical area, especially around mountains, for a shorter duration of time and the rain falls at a rain of 100 mm per hour over an area of 20 to 30 sq kilometers.

What causes cloudburst?

Cloudburst occurs when warm air currents block the raindrops from falling and causes an accumulation of water.

Which cloud is cloudburst?

Cloudburst is associated cumulonimbus clouds.

Why is cloudburst increasing in India?

Cloudburst increased in India because of massive urbanization, increased population and higher temperature.

Why do cloudbursts occur?

Cloudbursts occur due to conditions in which there is torrential downpour which is mostly accompanied by thunderstorms and occurs when warm air currents block the raindrops from falling and this causes a certain accumulation of water.

How many cloudburst observatories are in India?

Currently, there are four cloud observatories in India namely Munnar Cloud Observatory (Kerala), Breamore Cloud Observatory (Kerala), NCESS Campus Observatory (Kerala), and Tehri Cloud Observatory (Uttarakhand).

Is cloud burst due to climate change?

Climate change is a complex phenomenon that involves long-term alterations in global and regional climate patterns and is not the direct cause of cloudburst. However, some climatologist says that climate change indirectly influences weather patterns and potentially contributes to the severity or frequency of extreme weather events.