Cloudburst
About
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines cloudburst as an extreme localized rainfall event in which 100mm or more rainfall occurs within one hour over an area of 20-30 sq.km.
- A complex phenomenon, they are often associated with cumulonimbus clouds that can grow up to 15 km — and occasionally even 21km — through the troposphere (the first layer of the Earth’s atmosphere) and hold huge amounts of water.
- They occur in mountainous regions, especially during the monsoon season, when there is a lot of moisture in the air.
- Areas located close to snow-fed rivers and glaciers face heightened hazard potential, as sudden meltwater surges can combine with intense rainfall to worsen flooding.
- Despite advances in weather science, cloudbursts remain difficult to forecast due to their highly localized nature.