"Extreme Rainfall Events Intensify Across South Asia and Europe"
Clausius-Clapeyron Relation
atmosphere holds ~7% more water vapour per °C of warming, intensifying precipitation extremes.
Hydrological Cycle Intensification
warming accelerates evaporation and precipitation, making wet events wetter and dry spells drier.
India's Southwest Monsoon (June–September) delivers approximately 75% of the country's annual rainfall, with a Long Period Average (LPA) of roughly 887 mm. While the monsoon has always been characterised by natural variability — influenced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) — the past two decades have seen a marked shift in its character. Rainfall is becoming less about steady, distributed precipitation and more about intense, concentrated bursts separated by prolonged dry spells. This shift from 'normal' monsoon to 'extreme event' monsoon is now a well-documented trend in peer-reviewed climate science.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) confirmed with high confidence that anthropogenic warming is intensifying the global hydrological cycle — a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture (approximately 7% more water vapour per degree Celsius of warming, per the Clausius-Clapeyron relation), making extreme precipitation events more frequent and more intense. For South Asia specifically, the IPCC projects increased variability in monsoon rainfall, with wet extremes becoming wetter and dry spells becoming longer. This is not a future projection alone — it is already being observed in the frequency of cloudbursts over Mumbai, flash floods in Himalayan states, and simultaneous drought conditions in rain-shadow regions.
Urban centres like Mumbai are particularly exposed because rapid, unplanned urbanisation has replaced permeable land surfaces with concrete, drastically reducing the city's capacity to absorb rainfall. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) drainage system was historically designed to handle 25 mm of rainfall per hour; events now routinely exceed 60–100 mm per hour in short windows, overwhelming infrastructure built for a different climatic baseline.
The scientific concept underpinning the 'new normal' of extreme rainfall is the intensification of the hydrological cycle under global warming. As sea surface temperatures rise — particularly in the Arabian Sea, which has warmed significantly — the moisture content of air masses feeding the Indian monsoon increases. This does not necessarily mean more total annual rainfall; it means the same or greater amount of rain falls in fewer, more intense events. Climate scientists describe this as an increase in rainfall intensity even as rainfall frequency may decrease in some regions.
A critical concept here is climate tipping points — thresholds in the Earth system beyond which self-reinforcing feedbacks drive change that is difficult or impossible to reverse. The Amazon dieback, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw, and monsoon system destabilisation are among the tipping elements identified by researchers. …
Artificial way of causing rainfall to reduce air pollution makes use of
The World Bank warned that India could become one of the first places where wet-bulb temperatures routinely exceed 35°C. Which of the following statements best reflect(s) the implication of the above-said report?
I.Peninsular India will most likely suffer from flooding, tropical cyclones and droughts.
II.The survival of animals including humans will be affected as shedding of their body heat through perspiration becomes difficult.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
With reference to the intensification of extreme rainfall events under climate change, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.The Clausius-Clapeyron relation implies that the atmosphere can hold approximately 7% more water vapour per degree Celsius of warming.
2.Increased atmospheric moisture necessarily leads to higher total annual rainfall across all regions.
3.The IPCC AR6 confirmed with high confidence that anthropogenic warming is increasing the frequency of extreme precipitation events.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements about India's monsoon and extreme rainfall:
1.The India Meteorological Department defines 'below-normal' monsoon as rainfall less than 90% of the Long Period Average.
2.The Long Period Average (LPA) for the Indian Summer Monsoon is approximately 887 mm over the June–September period.
3.A positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) typically suppresses Indian monsoon rainfall.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The phenomenon of 'Arctic Amplification' is most directly relevant to which of the following observed changes in mid-latitude weather patterns?
With reference to the Disaster Management Act, 2005, consider the following:
1.It established the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the chairpersonship of the Prime Minister.
2.State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) are chaired by the respective Chief Ministers.
3.The Act mandates that all urban local bodies must prepare city-level flood management plans within two years of the Act's commencement.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Assertion (A): Simultaneous occurrence of extreme rainfall in South Asia and wildfires in Europe can be linked to the same underlying atmospheric dynamics.
Reason (R): Rossby wave patterns in the upper atmosphere can create teleconnections that lock weather anomalies in geographically distant regions simultaneously.
Select the correct answer:
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