FLASH FLOODS IN DHARALI, UTTARAKHAND

Current Context : A cloudburst over the Kheer Ganga River (a tributary of the Alaknanda) triggered flash floods in Dharali, located in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. ABOUT CLOUDBURST Definition: Rainfall of 10 cm or more within an hour at a location Common Location: Hilly regions like Himalayas due to terrain effects Prediction Difficulty: Due to small scale and short duration Needs dense radar networks or high-resolution weather models GEO-CLIMATIC REASONS FOR HIMALAYAN VULNERABILITY Orographic Lift: Steep mountain slopes force moist air to rise rapidly, forming tall cumulonimbus clouds Heavy Cloud Formation: Clouds become heavy and burst, causing intense rainfall....Read More