Cloudburst Different From Normal Rainfall

Rain is a blessing for mankind as it provides water for all purposes, suitable conditions for ecosystems, water for hydrogenic power plants and crop irrigation but sometimes it turns into a disaster because of the change in the natural pattern of rain. A cloudburst is a sudden and heavy rainfall with lightning and thunder. The word cloudburst is made from two words cloud and burst which is related to the bursting of clouds. Cloudburst occurs when an extreme amount of precipitation on clouds occurs in a small period of time. Precipitation occurs when a chemical reaction takes place in the formation of a solid in a solution. Precipitation can also be defined as a product of the condensation of water vapour that falls under the influence of gravitational pull from clouds. The forms of precipitation include drizzling, raining, sleeting, snowing, and hailing. The larger droplets grow by coagulation smaller droplets that fall slowly.

According to Meteorologists that the rain that falls from a cloudburst is generally of the shower type with the falling rate equal to or more than 100 mm per hour. The main difference is normal rain and cloudburst is in the falling rate of the water. There are no such techniques that cloudburst can be predicted before.

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How Does a Cloudburst Occur?

A cloudburst can be called a storm of rain. This usually happens in the deserts or mountain areas and interior regions of continental landmasses. Cloudburst happens when an excessive amount of precipitation occurs on clouds in a small period of time within a smaller area. The heavy clouds stop at a place and burst. The water droplets present in the cloud are mixed together as a result of this the density of the cloud increases with the weight of the droplets.

The cloudburst occurs due to orographic lift. When air hits a mountain it rises. The rising motion of air helps to cool down and moisture condenses into snow. The lift is called the Orographic lift. As the air mass gets altitude then it quickly cools down and creates clouds and, under the right conditions, precipitation. The region biome desert because of the blocking by mountains. This shelter side of the mountains do not grow plants and have a dry climate. The air flower the mountains creates a variety of cloud effects because of orographic lift. The change in the natural pattern of rain is occurred due to global warming. Global warming changes the natural pattern of precipitation of rainfall.

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Effects of Cloudburst

Cloudburst is a natural disaster. The government also working continuously in the field of natural disasters. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) came into action when such a disaster happens. The NDRF team rescues civilians and provide them shelter. Some effects of cloudbursts on the ecosystem and human life are given below.

• Cloudburst can cause floods in the region.

• Every year many people lose their life because of Cloudburst. Many get severe injuries. There are many incidences where thousands of people are still missing and died because of cloudbursts.

• The heavy flow of the rainfall and the flood also causes deforestation.

• The flood causes land sliding and soil erosion that destroys agricultural land and crops.

• All heavy rainfalls are not cloudbursts but the system of drainage of water should be in better condition in those regions because when excessive rainfall happens the drainage of water becomes the major issue.

• The massive amount of waterfalls on a small area with the catastrophic force causes destruction of the environment and natural habitat of humans and animals.

Difference between Cloudburst and Rainfall

Rain is a kind of condensed water that falls from a cloud on the other hand cloudburst is a sudden heavy storm of rain. The cloudburst is different from normal rain form in the amount of rainfall. In a cloudburst, there is an excessive amount of rainfall which turns into a natural disaster. Rain over 100mm per hour is considered a cloudburst. So the cloudburst occurs quite unexpectedly but it is a natural phenomenon. It usually occurs in the Indian Subcontinent when a monsoon could drift northwards from the Bay of Bengal across the plains. The main difference between cloudburst and rainfall is in the amount of waterfall from the cloud that falls on a single occasion while cloudburst is a sudden heavy rainstorm. Normal rainfall provides fresh water to the earth on other the amount of water of cloudburst have no use, it only does construction in the nature. The cloudbursts occur in mainly mountainous regions, deserts, and interior regions of continental landmasses while rainfall can occur in any part of the world.

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Cloudbursts in India

India has been facing cloudbursts calamity for the past many years. The Himalayan region, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Leh, Jammu and Kasmir are some regions where cloudbursts mostly occur in India. Some of the recent cloudbursts that happened in India is as follows.  

• A cloudburst hit a small village in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on 28 July 2021. There were around five bodies were recovered and more than forty people have been reported missing. Nine houses were completely damaged due to cloudburst.

• On 15 June 2013, A cloudburst occurred in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand. Over 5000 people died and 8400 people were missing.

The List of Some Record Cloudbursts in India is Given Below

Some security measures should be taken to prevent the outcome of a cloudburst. People living in the area where generally cloudburst occurs should construct their buildings above flood levels. The government and disaster management authorities should invest in flood management activities. Deforestation should be regulated and the digging of mines should not be permitted. India is near to acquire global recognition for its development and such natural disasters management. The government should take measures and initiatives to avoid mishaps from happening again. They need to have a clear analysis of the disaster and should take necessary steps towards prevention.