South Asia faces intensified monsoon with heavy rain alerts in India and Nepal

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in Nepal warned that the monsoon has intensified, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain across most provinces and alerting the public to flash floods, landslides and riverbank erosion.

In India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heavy‑rain alert for 15 states, noting thunderstorms, lightning and winds up to 70 km/h, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It also placed a red alert on July 20‑21 for extremely heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and orange alerts for heavy rain in Jammu & Kashmir, urging residents to avoid rivers, streams and vulnerable roads. The agency cautioned that the widespread rain could trigger flash floods, landslides, power and transport disruptions across the affected regions.