Climate change, human activity driving Himalayan extreme weather, Centre tells Lok Sabha
The Union government informed the Lok Sabha that climate change, combined with anthropogenic (human-driven) factors, is raising the risk of extreme rainfall, cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides across the Himalayan region.
Assessments by weather experts, scientific institutions, and state authorities indicate rising intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events in the Himalayas as a consequence of climate change.
Accelerated snowmelt and moraine (glacial debris) instability were cited as contributing to off-season slope failures and increased runoff in high-altitude areas.
A Multi-Sectoral Central Team (MSCT), comprising experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), and other agencies, has been tasked with a scientific assessment of extreme weather causes and ground conditions in the worst-affected areas.
National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and the Himalayan Mission
India's response to climate vulnerability is anchored in the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), launched on 30 June 2008, which outlines eight National Missions covering solar energy, energy efficiency, water, sustainable habitat, sustainable agriculture, strategic knowledge for climate change, a "Green India" mission, and the Himalayan ecosystem. The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) is the mission specifically targeting the fragile Himalayan zone.
Key Details
- NAPCC has 8 missions, launched 30 June 2008.
- NMSHE was launched in 2010 and formally approved by the Union government in 2014; it is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
- NMSHE covers 11 states (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal) and 2 Union Territories (Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh).
- Its objectives include scientific assessment of Himalayan vulnerability, glacier and mountain ecosystem monitoring, and community-based conservation.
The extreme weather events being probed by the government's Multi-Sectoral Central Team fall squarely within NMSHE's mandate — monitoring glacial and slope instability and assessing climate vulnerability in Himalayan states.
Disaster Management Framework and Institutional Response
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 created a three-tier structure — the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at the apex, State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA), and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) — for prevention, mitigation, and response to disasters, including extreme weather events.
Key Details
- NDMA is chaired by the Prime Minister; it lays down policies, plans, and guidelines for disaster management.
- The Act was enacted after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami exposed gaps in disaster response coordination.
- Cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in hill states are classified as "natural disasters" under this framework, triggering NDMA-coordinated assessment teams such as the MSCT.
The Multi-Sectoral Central Team constituted to study Himalayan extreme weather draws its institutional mandate from the NDMA's coordinating role under the 2005 Act.
Anthropogenic Factors in Himalayan Fragility
Beyond climate change, human interventions — unregulated construction, deforestation, hydropower projects, and road-cutting on unstable slopes — are recognised by climate assessments as compounding factors that convert climatic triggers (heavy rain, snowmelt) into disasters (landslides, flash floods).
Key Details
- The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region spans 8 countries and is often called the "Third Pole" or "Water Tower of Asia" due to its glacial ice reserves feeding major river systems.
- Scientific literature on Himalayan warming notes that high-altitude regions are warming faster than the global average, accelerating glacier retreat and permafrost thaw.
- Moraine instability (loosening of glacial debris dams) is a recognised trigger for glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
The government's submission explicitly linked "anthropogenic factors" — not climate change alone — to the rising disaster risk, reflecting the established understanding that unplanned development in ecologically fragile zones amplifies climate-driven hazards.
- NAPCC: 8 missions, launched 30 June 2008.
- NMSHE: launched 2010, approved 2014; covers 11 states and 2 Union Territories; run by the Department of Science and Technology.
- Multi-Sectoral Central Team includes NDMA, CBRI, and IITM experts.
- Disaster Management Act, 2005 established the NDMA-SDMA-DDMA three-tier structure.