At least 40 people have died after torrential downpours in northern India caused landslides and flash floods.
The heavy rainfall began over the weekend, leading to what experts described as the worst monsoon season in decades.Footage has shown deep, fast-flowing water carrying entire tree trunks, ripping through villages and destroying buildings.
The flooding affected northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, as well as the capital Delhi, have all been badly affected by the heavy rainfall.In Himachal Pradesh, flash floods brought down a bridge and swept away several hutments. Authorities used helicopters to rescue people stranded on roads and bridges because of the rain. 
Sawai Mansingh Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan – the city’s largest healthcare facility – was flooded, with footage showing patients on stretchers in corridors.
India’s weather authority said that Delhi, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh have received 112 per cent, 100 per cent and 70 per cent more rainfall than average so far in the current monsoon season, which started on 1 June.
At least 76 people have died in Pakistan in weather-related incidents since 25 June. The country is still struggling to recover from last summer’s flooding that killed 1,739 people and caused damage worth an estimated £23bn.
India regularly witnesses severe floods during monsoon season, which runs between June and September and brings most of South Asia’s annual rainfall. The rains are crucial for rain-fed crops planted during the season but often cause extensive damage.Scientists say monsoons are becoming more erratic due to climate change and global warming, leading to frequent landslides and flash floods in India’s Himalayan north.
