The 2025 Indian monsoon has turned into a season of extremes — devastating floods in some regions, parching deficits in others. From Punjab’s worst deluge in nearly four decades to cloudbursts in Uttarakhand and flash floods sweeping through Manipur, the country is grappling with a monsoon that's both unpredictable and unforgiving. Entire villages have been cut off, crops destroyed, and thousands displaced.
And it shows no signs of letting up, even as we enter mid-September. Just a few days ago, five people were swept away in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district after overnight rainfall triggered flooding and landslides. Experts warn that the crisis is not just a climate emergency but also a man-made disaster. The recklessness of unchecked growth and development is worsening the situation, with deforestation playing a major role. This explainer unpacks what’s gone wrong—and why this year has been especially destructive.
Extreme weather is taking a growing toll on India, affecting lives, livelihoods, and the economy. A new report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reveals that in 2024, extreme weather events—floods, cyclones, heatwaves—occurred on nearly 9 out of 10 days across the country. The impact was devastating: almost 3,000 lives lost, 2 million hectares of crops destroyed, and over 80,000 homes damaged. The report paints a stark picture of a nation increasingly at the mercy of climate-linked disasters, with serious consequences for public health, rural communities, and long-term development goals.
In an article published in Down To Earth in September, environmentalist and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) director Sunita Narain called the current crisis not just a climate emergency, but a man-made one. She warned that the destruction unfolding across India is “the recklessness of growth at all costs” coming back to haunt us. Narain noted that while the world is still struggling to cut the emissions driving climate change, the resulting impacts are only becoming “more deadly.” However, she added, “if we can understand that the tipping point is here, we can build differently—so that the next flood or cloudburst causes less damage.”
Deforestation has amplified the impact of monsoons across India, especially in fragile ecosystems like the Himalayas and Western Ghats. By stripping trees and loosening soil, it increases surface runoff, erosion, and the risk of flash floods and landslides. Environmentalist and Chipko Movement veteran Vijay Jardhari points out that Uttarakhand once received even more rain—the month of sawan was called the “dark month” because the sun was never seen—but natural disasters were rare. “Back then, there were no cloudbursts or landslides,” he says.
Today, devastation is constant, and nature gets the blame. “But the truth is, these disasters are not natural—they’re man-made.” Pollution, reckless development, and consumerism have darkened the once-pristine Himalayas. “We are sawing off the branch we sit on.”
Alongside extreme rainfall, dams have played a significant role in worsening the unprecedented floods this monsoon season. Sudden, large-scale water releases to prevent dam failure during heavy rains, or poorly managed reservoir operations that ignore flood control protocols, have intensified flooding in many regions. Gyatso Lepcha, general secretary of The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), points to the stagnant flow of the Teesta River visible from the Bengal-Sikkim highway as clear evidence. “We can clearly see the river is stagnant due to the dam and its impacts—multiple erosions and landslides. Our hills are crumbling, our economy is in shambles, and yet we keep blaming only the rain and climate change. How long, folks?” he questions.
The Himalayas are fragile, young mountains under constant geological stress, with vulnerable slopes and sensitive ecosystems that act as natural defenses. Construction of roads, tunnels, and dams destabilizes these slopes through blasting, deforestation, and improper waste disposal, removing vital vegetation and weakening the land. Combined with climate change, which brings intense rainfall and melting glaciers, these activities worsen landslides and floods. An activist in Sikkim, speaking anonymously, points out that the new railway line to Sikkim “has escalated damage to the highway in a big way,” highlighting how development projects are intensifying environmental harm in this vulnerable region.
Reflecting on recent tragedies in Dharali, Tharali, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, Jardhari warns that these events must teach us a crucial lesson. “We must now move towards sustainable development. Our governments must create policies that align with this vision. We must truly care for Mother Earth—and for the future generations to come. Only by changing course can we hope to protect these fragile ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.”