Staff Writer
Monsoon rains that tore over northern India caused floods and landslides that claimed at least 15 lives, with New Delhi receiving the heaviest rain in decades, according to reports and officials on Sunday.
The capital was inundated with 153 millimeters of rain, the most for a single day in July in 40 years, submerging roads in knee-deep water in numerous areas.
Authorities in New Delhi have ordered all schools closed on Monday due to the expectation of at least one more day of torrential rain.
In six northern Indian states, according to a report published on Sunday by the Press Trust of India news agency, 15 people had died in the previous day.
More rain is expected in the coming days throughout a sizable portion of northern India, according to India’s meteorological agency.
According to official data, the first week of July’s monsoon rains across the nation have already resulted in around 2% more rainfall than usual.
Seventy to eighty percent of South Asia’s yearly rainfall, as well as devastation from landslides and flooding, are brought by the summer monsoon.
The monsoon’s strength and irregular behavior are said to be being exacerbated by climate change, despite the fact that rainfall is unpredictable and difficult to forecast.
