The Himalayan mountains, long regarded as stoic sentinels of the north, are beginning to shift, quietly at times, violently at others. Their once-predictable rhythms are now subject to unpredictable convulsions -- bursts of torrential rain, crumbling slopes, roaring rivers, and collapsing trees.
Scientists studying the western Himalayan region are increasingly warning that the range’s famed stability is eroding under the pressure of a warming planet. Where once snowfall patterns set the pace of the seasons, now it is abrupt downpours and cloudbursts that define the new normal.
“The root cause of all this is global warming. It’s leading to high-density rainfall events across not just Himachal, but the entire region,” explained Dr Suresh Kumar Atri, a senior scientist on climate change at the Himachal Pradesh State Science, Technology and Environment Directorate. “If these global conditions persist, we will face even greater threats in the future.”
Atri and his colleagues have tracked a series of extreme weather events sweeping through Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring hill states in recent years. In 2023, flash floods devastated parts of Mandi and the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, washing away homes, bridges and entire hamlets. Losses in Himachal alone crossed ₹10,000 crore.
This year, despite the monsoon still unfolding, the state has already suffered damages of over ₹3,000 crore. And behind these escalating figures lies a pattern that scientists find deeply troubling.
“The Arabian Sea has warmed significantly, and this affects the western disturbances, which bring rain,” Atri said. “When these disturbances interact with the monsoon, especially in a delayed fashion, the result is catastrophic, intense rainfall, landslides, and floods. This exact combination led to widespread destruction last year and is repeating again.”
Such events, he adds, are not isolated to remote areas or poorly managed hillsides. They are occurring in towns, even capitals, which until recently felt shielded from such extreme manifestations.
One such moment arrived quietly just before dawn in Shimla on Thursday. A towering deodar tree, aged, noble, and rooted deep into a rain-soaked slope, collapsed onto the very building that houses the state’s Environment Directorate.
“This tree had been leaning dangerously for the last few days, especially after continuous rains,” said Atri. “We had already written to the Municipal Corporation, alerting them. Today, at around 5.30 AM, the tree broke and fell. It caused significant damage to the building’s metal roofing and gate, though luckily, there was no loss of life. Had this occurred during the day, it could have been disastrous.”
Also read: Climate change redrawing India’s flash flood hotspots, warns IIT
To those tracking Himachal’s environmental health, the incident is more than just a structural hazard. It’s a metaphor for what scientists call an “unravelling ecological balance.” The tree had stood watch for decades. But years of rising soil saturation, repeated monsoon stress, and shifting root beds left it vulnerable.
Atri also took the opportunity to clarify misconceptions around the term “cloudburst”, a word often used inaccurately in the public domain.
“There’s no such thing as a cloud exploding, as people imagine. What actually happens is high-intensity rainfall in a very short span of time in a small geographical area,” he said. “If 100 mm of rain falls within an hour over, say, 10-20 square kilometres, that qualifies as a cloudburst. For instance, in an area like Shimla, if 100 mm of rain falls within an hour, it leads to flash floods -- a cloudburst-like situation. That’s around 300 crore litres of water in a compact space, which overwhelms drainage systems and natural outlets.”
While the incident at the Environment Directorate caused no injuries, it has triggered urgent discussions in bureaucratic circles about preparedness and public safety during extreme weather events. The location, a department tasked with managing the very ecosystems now under siege, has only added to the symbolism.
Calling for immediate, long-term strategies, Atri emphasised the need to prioritise watershed management and preserve natural drainage.
“We must keep our water channels and watersheds clear. Water must flow out without obstruction. People should avoid going near rivers and streams during such weather conditions,” he urged.
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