.jpg "Volunteers remove debris after flash floods in Leh following a cloudburst early on August 6.The cloudburst over a hill in Ladakh’s capital triggered mudslides that swept away houses and all else that came in their way downhill. Houses collapsed under torrential rain, taking the residents by surprise. (Source: Reuters)")
- Cloudbursts are usually triggered by mountain formations that lead to lifting of moisture-laden winds and forming of a convective cloud. Cloudbursts are common in the western Himalaya. Western disturbances over the Leh region on August 5 might have also triggered the cloudburst, said M Rajeevan, of National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Tirupati.
- A cloudburst in Ladakh is unnatural because it is a rain shadow area. But officials of the India Meteorological Department in Delhi said it is not the first time Leh experienced a cloudburst.
- Experts said the cloudburst cannot be directly linked with climate change, but increase in the number of extreme weather events is because of climate change.
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