No concrete proof to pin Leh cloudburst on global warming: Experts

London, Aug 18 (ANI): Two weeks back, a Himalayan desert town, Leh was ravaged by a fatal cloudburst - but scientists insist that there isn't sufficient evidence to confirm that it occurred as a result of global warming.

Heavy rainfall is common elsewhere in the Himalayas, but not in Ladakh.

Instead, it's a rain shadow area, making it a cold, high-altitude desert and receives a meagre average of 15 millimetres of rain during August.

On 6th August, however, the cloudburst that attacked Leh, led to flash floods and mudslides, washing away houses that weren't built to withstand such rainfall. More than 150 people have died and hundreds more are missing.

According to New Scientist, climate scientist Jayaraman Srinivasan of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore said that the number of extreme events such as cloudbursts would increase with rising global temperature.

But added that there is not enough evidence to pin the Leh cloudburst on global warming.

"The problem with mountainous areas is that we don't have sufficient data," he says. "We only know from hearsay that the number of extreme events has increased over the past few years," he said. (ANI)