Climate Change Clock Is Ticking As Extreme Weather Batters India

A view of a flood waterlogged street near Salimgarh Fort, the back side of Red Fort in the morning in New Delhi. In 2023, the water level of the Yamuna breached an all-time high mark in more than 45 years. Authorities had to evacuate thousands from nearby low-lying areas and divert traffic from arterial roads.

People travel on a raft on a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall in Guwahati, Assam. Severe water-logging was witnessed in Guwahati city following heavy rains last year.

Construction vehicles are seen covered in debris caused by flash floods after a lake burst in Rangpo along the Teesta River. After a glacial lake in northeast India burst through a dam in October 2023, washing away homes and bridges and forcing thousands to flee, rescue workers continued to dig through muddy debris.

Plastic bags and puja ingredients and others litter the bank of the River Brahmaputra after Kali Puja and Diwali festival, in Guwahati, Assam. Religious offerings like flowers, decoration materials, polish, painted material, polythene bags and food offerings are dumped into the river, resulting in environmental damage in India.

Delhi authorities spray chemicals to dissolve toxic foam forming along the Yamuna River ahead of the annual Hindu festival Chhath Puja at Kalindi Kunj Ghat in New Delhi.

Farmers are setting the stubble on fire in their fields in the village of Khera Bet in Ludhiana, Punjab.

A boy is running across the dried portion of the Ningli Wetland in Sopore District, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.

Garbage is burning in Khoda dumping ground in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

A view of a partially dried stream amid dry weather conditions during a sunny winter day in Ganderbal, about 30 kms from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Until very recently, a prolonged dry spell was sweeping across Kashmir valley during the harshest phase of winter. Tourist resorts such as Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Sonamarg would typically have accumulated ample snow by now. But this season, the Kashmir valley was dry for months with no snow anywhere to be seen. The tourism sector was hit badly as tourists who had planned to visit the Valley during January to enjoy snow cancelled their trips.

General view of a dry water canal on a cold winter day in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. An unprecedented dry spell amid the intense cold resulted in many water bodies hitting the bottom in Kashmir. Meteorological officials in January said the region experienced an exceptional drought, with an 80% rainfall shortfall from December 2023. The prolonged dry weather raised serious concern among the people who are associated with agriculture and horticulture, as experts link these weather shifts in Kashmir with broader climate change and global warming and warn it could lead to water scarcity and food crises in the region.

A Houseboat is seen on the banks of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The water level in Jhelum has hit its lowest as the dry spell continues.

Ski lifts remained closed due to the dry weather conditions in Gulmarg, a ski destination on a dry winter day in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir valley, known for its snow-clad picturesque landscapes, is facing an unexpected absence of snowfall this year. This climatic change of events in the region is impacting the tourism sector and could be fatal for the health of the region’s glaciers and water bodies.

A partially frozen stream is flowing in Gulmarg, a ski destination, on a dry winter day in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.

A dead fish is floating due to water pollution near the fish farm on the outskirts of Kolkata, West Bengal.