In News:Highly-localised rains in Amarnath, J&K, caused flooding and loss of lives.
What is a cloudburst?
A cloudburst refers to an extreme amount of rain that happens in a short period, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines it as unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm (or 10 cm) per hour over a geographical region of approximately 20 to 30 square km.
Basically, all instances of cloudbursts involve heavy rain in a short period, but all instances of heavy rain in a short period are not cloudbursts if they do not fit this criterion.
Why do cloudbursts occur in hilly areas?
Due to their definition dealing with a very small area, it is difficult to accurately predict and identify cloudbursts immediately.
However, they are more likely to occur in mountainous zones mainly because of terrain and elevation.
This is because, in hilly areas, sometimes saturated clouds ready to condense into rain cannot produce rain, due to the upward movement of the very warm current of air.
Instead of falling downwards, raindrops are carried upwards by the air current. New drops are formed and existing raindrops increase in size.
After a point, the raindrops become too heavy for the cloud to hold on to, and they drop down together in a quick flash.
