Monsoon Returns: Is Himachal Pradesh Better Prepared For Extreme Weather Events?

The onset of the southwest monsoon in Himachal Pradesh has traditionally been a season of hope, bringing relief from scorching dry summers and sustaining the hill state's agrarian economy. But the same clouds now carry an altogether different meaning.

Scarred by the devastating flash floods, torrential rains and cloud-bursts in 2023 and later 2025, the monsoon evokes memories of disaster warnings, road closures, highway collapse, landslides and human fatalities.

In the last 48 hours, after the monsoon arrived, two incidents of cloudbursts in Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti, a sudden glacier melt in the Lahaul-Spiti district, a landslide on the Shimla-Bilaspur-Mandi highway, and disruption of the Manali-Leh highway and multiple rain-triggered landslides, also resulting in the death of a woman in Mandi, have once again exposed the risks of climate-induced extreme events. Six lives were lost in the state.

Local media reports in Mandi, one of the state’s highly vulnerable districts, indicate that anxiety is already building up in the worst-hit villages of Seraj, where survivors of the July 2025 disaster admit they are living under the constant shadow of last year's catastrophic cloudbursts and flash floods.

“Every spell of heavy rain revives painful memories, forcing the victim families to remain on edge and keep a close watch on weather forecasts, fearing a repeat of the devastation that swept away homes, livelihoods, and loved ones," admits Tikkam Ram, a resident of Thunag village.

Many families in the area, who lost their agricultural land and their houses, also got swept in the flash flood on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1 and are still living in private rented houses, away from the devastated areas.

Mukesh, who lost his wife, two children, and both parents in the disaster at village Payala, now spends every spell of heavy rain fearing another tragedy. "The sound of rain at night no longer lets us sleep," he says. Kanta Devi of Kater village, who lost her three daughters, admits that every downpour reminds her of the trauma of losing an entire family.

Waiting for relief

Former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, who represents Seraj, one of Himachal Pradesh’s interiors, shares the pain of families who lost close members, also small children, and elders. “They still wait for proper rehabilitation; houses to be rebuilt; and cultivable land, their only means of livelihood, vanished in the fury," he complains.

“Now that the monsoon has arrived, I don't see the government having put in place adequate preparedness to deal with another spell of extreme weather. We cannot afford to rely only on rescue and relief after disasters strike; prevention has to become the priority,” he suggests.

For example, in villages such as Deji, Pandav Sheela, Lambathach, Pakhrair, Ropa, and Talwara, road connectivity has still not been fully restored. In the event of another cloudburst or landslide, residents fear they would have no reliable escape route to safety.

Lessons from disasters?

With experts cautioning that Himachal Pradesh could see more extreme events during the monsoon, the state government has alerted all district commissioners, health officials, and SPs, asking for prompt movements for relief and rescue.

"A detailed meeting of stakeholder departments was held in Shimla on June 9, 2026, under the state’s Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant, and a complete action plan was discussed to ensure rapid information dissemination through the state-level Rapid Incident Reporting System (RIRS)," says Pushpendra Rana, special secretary (Disaster Management).

He also adds that the high-risk districts — Kangra, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, and Shimla — have been particularly mapped for disaster response.

The state disaster response teams, with the help of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), are also keeping a close watch on Ghepan Lake, a glacier-fed water body at a height of 13,500 feet in Lahaul-Spiti, due to the high risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

The Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul-Spiti, Kiran Bandana, has been told to put the teams on regular monitoring of the lake’s condition, and an early warning system should become fully operational. The nearby villages are also on high alert.

She has also advised the tourists to strictly monitor local weather reports, avoid unnecessary travel in high-altitude areas, and exercise extreme caution during the monsoon. Following instances of flash floods and disrupted connectivity on the Manali-Leh National Highway, she urged the visitors to follow official updates and halt travel if conditions become hazardous.

Mansi Asher, an environmental researcher and activist, says that while climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall, landslides, and cloudbursts, it is unplanned development, massive hill cuttings for road widening, hydropower projects, and indiscriminate tourism and construction in fragile terrain that are amplifying the scale of destruction. "Most disasters are turning out to be man-made," she says.

State Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu says the frequency of climate change-related disasters is increasing every year.

As per him, the Himalayan region has become increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather because of climate change, rising temperatures, unplanned construction, and shrinking forest cover. While governments cannot prevent cloudbursts or extreme rainfall, their impact on ground and human losses can be minimised through better preparedness, early warning systems, and swift emergency response.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next four to five days, warning of landslides, flash floods, mudslides, and travel disruption in the next four to five days.