Downpour in China, Bhutan & Arunachal piles misery downstream

One reason for the flood fury in Assam is the more than 30% excess rainfall the state has received since monsoon hit the Northeast on June 6. The Central Water Commission said the situation was aggravated by heavy rainfall in China, Bhutan and Arunachal, from where many of Assam's rivers, including the Brahmaputra, originate. Water resources minister Rajib Lochan Pegu said Arunachal alone, through which the Brahmaputra flows, received 22% excess rain. A study by Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the frequency of floods and flashfloods in Assam had increased in the last 20 years. The study said indigenous coping strategies were proving ineffective . Studies have warned that the Brahmaputra basin is likely to experience more serious flooding in future. The Brahmaputra originates from Tibet's Jima Yangzong glacier. The ICIMOD study says water flow in the Brahmaputra will increase because of accelerated glacier melting and a rise in mean rainfall upstream of the river basin by about 25%.