Improving weather forecast is the key to fight natural calamities like the one that struck in the close proximity to the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnath in Kashmir. There are certain limitations for the concerned authorities while organizing pilgrimages at such a large scale where lakhs of devotees visit difficult terrains like the south Kashmir Himalayas to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva. There is no doubt that adequate arrangements were put in place for the comfort and safety of the pilgrims but the inclement weather played spoilsport and such a catastrophe took place wherein scores of people have lost their lives and several others received injuries while over three dozen others have reportedly gone missing thus giving a hard time to rescuers to bring back the survivors under the harshest conditions. Unfortunately, the incidents of cloudbursts have increased manifold times in the last few decades and the J&K and Ladakh regions are affected more with this natural climatic condition which often led to devastation in the form of loss of human and animal lives besides property. The biggest tragedy which followed a cloudburst was in 2010 when a tragic cloudburst hit Ladakh region. Then it was in Doda district killing scores of people. There are other states also where this natural phenomenon devastated life like case of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. The impact of the cloudburst is sudden and colossal therefore mitigation action often proved futile therefore the only way by which one can minimize the impact is the better forecasting because the same can help in evacuating people beforehand so that lives could be saved as far as possible. Global warming can be one of the reasons behind this devastating natural phenomenon and therefore the people should contribute as far as possible to stop this from worsening because this will not only cause cloudbursts but can bring more forms of natural catastrophes. All said and done, to save humanity from the vagaries of the weather, the only workable solution in sight is the improvement in weather forecasting and therefore governments across the world should pay attention to it to minimize damage and ensure livable conditions for the long times to come.
