Twentieth century was Pakistan s wettest

Himachal s valleys are being robbed off their natural gift medicinal herbs

Intense rainfall often leads to floods and landslides in the Himalayan region even with rainfall amounts that are considered comparatively moderate over the plains; for example, ‘cloudbursts’, which are devastating convective phenomena producing sudden high-intensity rainfall (∼10 cm per hour) over a small area. Early prediction and warning of such severe local weather systems is crucial to mitigate societal impact arising from the accompanying flash floods. We examine a cloudburst event in the Himalayan region at Shillagarh village in the early hours of 16 July 2003.

In the Himalayas, subsistence largely depends upon resources derived from natural forests due to the free and easy access to these and simplicity in their use. Sikkim has 43% of its total geographical area under forest cover, of which 34% is under dense forests. The burgeoning human population and family fragmentation are exerting a tremendous pressure on the natural resources to meet the requirements of food, fuel, fodder, timber and other human needs. In recent years, tourism has increased manifolds in Sikkim, which has been one of the major factors behind destruction of forests.