Two killed by landslid in Uttarakhand State, India.

Two people have been killed and three others injured in a landslide which hit a trekking route to the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand State, India, on Wednesday 18 June 2025. The incident happened at about 11.20 am local time, when rocks fell onto the path, knocking two palanquin operators, their female passenger and two porters into a gorge. The two deceased have been identified as Nitin Kumar, 18, and Chandrashekhar, palanquin operators from the town of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir. The two porters have been taken to a health centre in Gaurikund with serious injuries, while the woman escaped with minor injuries.

Rescue workers descending into a gorge near the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand to search for survivors, following a landslide on Wednesday 18 June 2025. Press Trust of India.

The palanquin bearers were reportedly hit while attempting to cross a debris field left by another landslide earlier in the week, in which another person was killed. Local press reports have suggested that they may have been inexperienced in the role. palanquins were formerly a common way for wealthier pilgrims to reach the Kedarnath Temple, but this has become less popular following the introduction of a helicopter service. However, this helicopter service has been suspended following a crash earlier this pilgrimage season, leading local entrepreneurs to resume palanquin services, often using inexperienced labourers as bearers.

Labourers removing debris from a path leading to the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand following a landslide on Monday 16 June 2025.Press Trust of India.

The landslides appear to have been triggered by heavy rain associated with the annual monsoon. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate. This situation is particularly intense in South Asia, due to the presence of the Himalayas. High mountain ranges tend to force winds hitting them upwards, which amplifies the South Asian Summer Monsoon, with higher winds leading to more upward air movement, thus drawing in further air from the sea.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

See also...

More than sixty dead in Indian heatwave.

More than sixty people have died in a heatwave affecting northern and central India this week. Sustained temperatures in excess of 45°C have been recorded across much of the region, with some areas experiencing peaks in excess of 50°C, although a record-breaking 52.9°C temperature recorded in Delhi on Wednesday 29 May 2024 has now been confirmed to have been erroneous; the correct temperature should have been a comparatively 'mild' 49.9°C.

A patient being treated for heatstroke in a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat State, this week. Reuters.

At least 23 of the people who have died are reported to have been election officials, obliged to remain at their posts, often outdoors in direct sunlight, throughout the day while polls are carried out. In Odisha State twenty-six people have died of suspected heat-related conditions, many of them truck-drivers who remained in hot vehicles. In Bihar State fourteen people are reported to have died of heat-related conditions, including ten polling officials. In Uttar Pradesh thirteen people have died of heat related conditions. Eight people have been confirmed to have died of heat-related conditions in Jharkhand, with more than 1300 others hospitalised. Four people are reported to have died of heat-related conditions in Rajasthan. 

Residents of Delhi queueing to collect water from a tanker this week. Getty Images.

Many areas of India, including Delhi are also suffering from extreme water-shortages at the moment, hampering people's efforts to keep hydrated in the extreme heat. The combination of extreme heat and drought has led to forest fires raging across parts of northern India and neighbouring Pakistan (where temperatures in excess of 52°C have been recorded in several places this week). The monsoon rains are reported to have arrived in Kerala on Friday 31 May, which may bring some relief to central parts of the country, though the heatwave in the north is predicted to continue for another week. This year's monsoon is also expected to be particularly severe, driven by the high temperatures, and will likely bring a new set of problems.

A forest fire in Uttarakhand on Wednesday 29 May 2024. Press Trust of India.

The high temperatures experienced in the past year have been linked to a combination of anthropogenic global warming, driven by emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, with an El Niño - Southern Oscillation climate system over the Pacific Ocean, a natural phenomenon which also tends to drive temperatures upwards. However, the El Niño system appears to have been weakening over the past months, with sea surface temperatures over the eastern equatorial Pacific actually being lower than the average for 1990-2020, while global temperatures have continued to rise, suggesting that the El Niño system may be playing as large a role in driving this year's high temperatures as previously assumed.

See also...

Flooding and landslides kill at least twenty two people in northern India.

At least twenty two people have lost their lives in a series of flooding and landslide events across northern India, where this year's monsoon has brought 59% more rainfall so far this year than would be expected at by this date on an average year.

Six people have died in four separate incidents in Himachal Pradesh; three members of the same family died in when their house collapsed after being hit by a landslide. Two other people died in landslides in Kullu and Chamba districts. Also in Shimla, a young girl is reported to have died when a raft of debris caried by floodwaters struck her home; an elderly lady is reportedly still trapped beneath the debris of the building, with rescuers attempting to reach her. The state recorded 14 major landslides and 13 flash floods on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 July 2023. There are also reports of shops being swept away in the resort town of Manali, and of cars being washed away in several districts. Over 700 roads in Himachal Pradesh are currently closed, with flooding and landslips sweeping away many roads connecting remote communities to the outside world, and all schools and colleges will be closed on Monday and Tuesday as a precaution. The city of Solan recorded 135 mm of rain on Sunday 9 July, the highest ever rainfall recorded, breaking a previous record of 105 mm set in 1971. 

The Beas River in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday 9 July 2023. Press Trust of India.

In Uttarakhand three people are known to have died and three are still missing after a landslide swept their jeep into the swollen Ganga River, while they were undertaking a pilgrimage. Five other people who were in the vehicle have been rescued. In another incident in the same state, a house collapse in Kashipur is reported to have killed two people and injured their granddaughter.

In Jammu and Kashmir two people are reported to have died when a landslide hit the bus they were travelling in in Doda District. Elsewhere in the state, a man was killed when his car was struck by a falling boulder in Ladakh, and two soldiers are reported to have drowned while attempting to cross a river in Poonch District.

Part of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Jammu and Kashmir swept away by a landslide. Press Trust of India.

In Haryana State a man is reported to have drowned in Gurugram District, while another man, reportedly his cousin, is still missing. 

In Uttar Pradesh, a 10-year-old girl is reported to have died when a tree fell onto the shack she was living in in Kaushambi District, while in Muzaffarnagar District a woman and her six-year-old daughter died when the roof of their home collapsed under the weight of water that had pooled there. In the city of Ballia two people died and three more were injured after being struck by lightning in separate incidents. 

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season, the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate. This situation is particularly intense in South Asia, due to the presence of the Himalayas. High mountain ranges tend to force winds hitting them upwards, which amplifies the South Asian Summer Monsoon, with higher winds leading to more upward air movement, thus drawing in further air from the sea.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

While the monsoon always brings problems to India, this year's monsoon has produced an uneven distribution of rain, with the north of the country receiving 59% more rain than would usually be expected, while in the south, between 23% and 45% less rain than usual has fallen. This year an El Niño weather system has been developing over the South Pacific, something which usually tends to supress the Indian monsoon, something which may be happening in the south of the country, but northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal have all been suffering deadly floods, something which may be related to the rising global atmospheric temperatures.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter. 

Landslide destroys buildings in Uttarakhand, India.

Several buildings were destroyed on a landslide in the town of Devprayag, in Uttarakhand State, India, on Tuesday 11 May 2021. The landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall, which caused a rise in the waters of the Shanta River, which rapidly undermined the banks below the buildings, causing the slope on which they were situated to collapse. The buildings are described as having been municipal and commercial in nature, rather than residential, and were evacuated safely before their collapse, so that nobody was injured in the event.

 

Collapsed buildings in the town of Devprayag, in Uttarakhand State, India, following a landslide on 11 May 2021. Times of India.

Uttarakhand is prone to extreme weather events, generally connected to its heavy seasonal monsoon, which typically lasts from July to September. However, this event appears to have been unrelated to the annual monsoon, but instead to have been caused by a cloudburst (isolated extreme rainfall event) which caused similar events across a wide area, although none of them as serious as that in Devprayag. A number of buildings were damaged in other parts of Uttarakhand, including the Kainchi Dham shrine in Nainital District, although there are no reports of anybody being injured in any of these events.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter. 

 

Eight-year-old girl killed by Crocodile in Uttarakhand.

An eight-year-old girl has died in a Crocodile attack in Haridwar District of Uttarakhand State India on Friday 25 October 2020. The girl identified as Radhika, from the village of Kudi Baghwanpur, had gone with her sister to collect flowers, when she was snatched by the Animal, which emerged from an overgrown waterway. and dragged her in. A search by divers and local police recovered the girls body, which had visible Crocodile bires on one arm, but were unable to find the Crocodile itself.

 

Forest department officials and police officers searching an overgrown waterway for an eight-year-old girl who was snatched by a Crocodile on Friday 25 September 2020. Hindustan Times.

There are three species of Crocodilians found in India, the Saltwater Crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, the Mugger Crocodile, Crocodylus palustris, and the Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus. Of these the Gharail is unlikely to be found in a waterway of this type, and is generally a Fish-eater, not prone to attacking Humans.  Muggers are smaller that Saltwater and Nile Crocodiles, with males reaching about 3.5 m and females about 2.5 m, and are generally less considered less dangerous, as their preferred prey is animals smaller than Humans. This can, however, sometimes include children, who are at risk.

 

A Mugger Crocodile, Crocodylus palustris. Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble/Flikr/Wikimedia Commons.

Mugger Crocodiles were formerly found across South Asia from Iran to Myanmar and Nepal to Sri Lanka, but they are thought to be extinct in Myanmar, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and the species is considered to be Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of  Threatened Species. Attacks such as the one in Haridwar District this week can lead to  reciprocal actions by local villagers, with regular reports of Crocodiles being killed (illegally) in the area. This conflict appears to have been driven by rising Human populations in the area, which means that there are more Humans living close to the Crocodiles, and that there is more water being taken from the river for domestic and industrial use, reducing the available habitat for Crocodiles and their main food source (Fish).

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter. 

 

Landslide kills three in Uttarakhand.

Three roadworkers have died following a landslide on the Rishikesh-Badrinath stretch of National Highway 58, near Bayasi in Tehri Garhwal District, Uttarakhand, on Monday 24 August 2020. The incident happened at about 5.30 am local time, where the men were involved in clearing debris from an earlier landslide at the same location, caused by heavy rainfall in the same area, which is believed to have been caused by several days of heavy rain associated with the annual monsoon. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. The men have been identified as Prabhat, 32, Sanjeev Kumar, 40, and Rajesh; all are believed to have come from Punjab. The landslide swept the men and the equipment they were operating from the road, which is raised some way above the waters of the River Ganges, currently in flood.

Rescue workers searching for the bodies of three men swept from National Highway 58 in Uttarakhand on 24 August 2020. Hindustan Times.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate. This situation is particularly intense in South Asia, due to the presence of the Himalayas. High mountain ranges tend to force winds hitting them upwards, which amplifies the South Asian Summer Monsoon, with higher winds leading to more upward air movement, thus drawing in further air from the sea.

See also...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.