Heavy rains cause floods and landslides, killing dozens in Uttar Pradesh and Nepal

Over the last three days, heavy monsoon rains unleashed deadly floods and landslides in northern India and neighboring Nepal, resulting in at least 68 fatalities. Uttar Pradesh’s relief commissioner’s office confirmed 56 deaths and damage to more than 1,000 houses, with rainfall totals of 66.5 mm—nearly nine times the regional norm. In Nepal, spokesperson Shanti Mahat of the disaster authority said 12 people have died and seven remain missing since Thursday, compounding the tragedy of the August glacial collapse that killed over 1,400.

Scientists have warned that such extreme events are becoming more common in South Asia due to rising temperatures and shifting climate patterns. The storms were driven by a depression moving inland from the Bay of Bengal, which also intensified rainfall in the eastern state of Odisha, prompting evacuations of over 70,000 residents. Infrastructure such as bridges and tourist sites like Devkund have been closed, and farmers fear delayed sowing and crop losses.