KARACHI, Pakistan
South Asian countries have been under heavy monsoon spells over the past several weeks, resulting in widespread flooding and devastation in terms of both life and infrastructure losses.
Monsoon rains often cause destruction in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, but their ferocity, unpredictability, and intensity have increased in recent years due to a string of factors, mainly the climate change impacts.
With flooding as the most common disaster, South Asia is one of the top regions affected by the climate change impacts in recent decades, resulting in massive floods, droughts, heat waves, and unseasonal rains.
Several factors, such as increased industrialization, deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, and pollution caused by vehicles, are considered to be responsible for climate change.
Melting glaciers in the Himalayas due to rising temperatures pose a significant flood risk, particularly in Pakistan and India.
Major South Asian cities like Mumbai, Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka, Colombo, Chennai, and Kolkata have experienced record rainfall and flooding in recent years.
Currently, Pakistan's northern and eastern parts are experiencing a massive rain spell that has killed 185 people since June 26.
It followed severe storms that brought heavy rain, lightning, and hail to the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand in April, killing at least 47 people and causing massive infrastructural damage.
In neighboring Nepal, flash floods killed at least seven people and swept away the main bridge connecting Nepal to China earlier this month.
Here is a rundown of major rain spells and floods that hit the South Asian nations since 2020.
Record-breaking 2022 Pakistan floods
The unprecedented monsoon floods that struck Pakistan in June 2022 are considered the deadliest in terms of human and infrastructural losses in decades. The devastating deluges of water inundated one-third of the South Asian nuclear country, aside from killing more than 1,700 people and displacing millions. The disaster also inflicted immense economic damage estimated at $32 billion and reversed years of development efforts.
In 2022, Pakistan experienced three times higher precipitation than normal, while southern Sindh province had as much as 7–8 times higher, which is an indicator of the drastic alteration in the global climate.
2024 Bangladesh floods, worst in 30 years
Bangladesh faced its worst floods in recent memory in August 2024, impacting some 18 million people and displacing over 500,000, according to the UN.
Described as the worst in 34 years, the massive floods devastated the eastern part of the country, with persistent rainfall and rising river levels causing widespread inundation.
The floods affected at least 11 out of Bangladesh's 64 districts, with the Noakhali district in the south being the hardest hit.
They caused extensive damage to roads, croplands, and homes, with significant losses reported in the livestock and fisheries sectors, in addition to killing 20 people.
2022 India-Bangladesh floods
Beginning in May 2022, deadly floods hit northeastern India and Bangladesh, affecting over 9 million people in both countries and killing around 300 people.
2021 flooding in India's Maharashtra state
A series of floods compounded by landslides took place across India's western Maharashtra state in 2021, killing over 250 people.
According to the India Meteorological Department, over 30 districts in Maharashtra witnessed a flood-like situation as the state faced maximum heavy rainfall. The disaster also caused infrastructural losses of $539 million.
2020 floods in Assam, India
The May 2020 floods caused massive damage in the northeastern Indian state of Assam and coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The flooding that started in May due to heavy rainfall affected over five million people and claimed 150 lives. Some 5,474 villages were affected, and over 150,000 people took refuge in relief camps.
In the same year, floods associated with "deep depression" caused extensive damage and loss of life in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh in October, killing over 100 people.
2024 floods in Afghanistan
Over 300 people, mostly women and children, were killed after unusually heavy flash floods hit several provinces in northern Afghanistan in May 2024. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed, and according to Save the Children, some 40,000 children lost their homes in the hard-hit Baghlan province.
2020 flash floods in Afghanistan
A series of rain-triggered flash floods in March and August 2020 killed over 170 people and injured more than 200, aside from causing significant damage to houses and agricultural land in Afghanistan's central Parwan province.
The flooding also destroyed hundreds of houses across the impoverished province.
Afghanistan's mountainous terrain and rapid snowmelt contribute to flash floods, which can quickly turn streams into dangerous torrents.
2024 Nepal floods
More than 200 people were killed and thousands of houses damaged in the worst flooding and landslides in Nepal in September 2024.
Kathmandu, the capital of the tiny Himalayan state, was inundated by floodwaters after record-breaking rains caused the Bagmati River to breach its banks.
2023 Sri Lanka floods
More than 240 people died, and at least 150,000 families were displaced in Sri Lanka's worst floods in 50 years in May 2023.
The intensity of the floods prompted the Sri Lankan government to make a desperate appeal for international assistance to carry out relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.
Sri Lanka has a history of recurring flood disasters, with significant events impacting the island nation in various years. These floods are often caused by intense rainfall associated with the monsoon seasons, particularly during May and December.
2024 rains in Sri Lanka
Heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka led to flash floods, mudslides, and falling trees across the western and southern parts of the island between May and June 2024.
The floods killed at least 16 people and affected 20 out of the country's 25 districts, with some areas reporting over 400 millimeters (16 inches) of rain.