The changing monsoon in the Himalayas: Lessons from Bhutan's floods
Summary
In 2025, unusually heavy monsoon rains caused devastating floods and landslides across the Himalayas, severely impacting Bhutan's hydropower infrastructure and prompting calls for transformative climate adaptation and improved early-warning systems.
Key Points
- The 2025 monsoon caused unprecedented floods and landslides across the Himalayan region, severely affecting Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
- Bhutan's hydropower plants went offline due to persistent rains and floods, causing nationwide power outages that impacted multiple sectors.
- ESCAP and Bhutan's National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology projects intensified monsoon rainfall increasing flood risks to hydropower infrastructure.
- Efforts focus on multi-hazard early warning systems, transformative adaptation, and leveraging technology and data for better decision-making and resilience-building.
