Storms (dust-, hail-, rain-, thunder-): India
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Desert storms
Desert storms carry bacteria to hilltops of Himalayas
Chethan.Kumar, January 30, 2026: The Times of India
Bengaluru: High in the Himalayas, where thin air and cold temperatures are often believed to offer natural protection against disease, an unseen traveller is arriving on the wind. A new study has found that dust storms rising from the deserts of western India are carrying airborne bacteria to Himalayan hilltops, including pathogens linked to respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal illnesses.
Researchers from the Bose Institute, an autonomous body under the department of science and technology (DST), traced this movement through more than two years of continuous monitoring of dust events and atmospheric samples across high-altitude sites in the eastern Himalayas. Their findings have been published in the journal ‘Science of the Total Environment’.
Dust storms are a recurring feature of India’s arid regions, particularly during the pre-monsoon months. The study shows that as these storms rise from desert surfaces, they lift not only fine mineral particles but also bacteria attached to them. Driven by prevailing winds, the dust plumes travel hundreds of kilometres, crossing the densely populated and polluted Indo-Gangetic plain before settling over Himalayan hilltops.
Several of the airborne bacteria identified in the samples are known to be associated with respiratory and skin diseases. The findings are especially relevant for Himalayan populations, who already face heightened health vulnerability due to cold climatic conditions and hypoxia. Until now, there has been limited evidence directly linking long-range airborne microbial exposure to disease risks in highaltitude regions.
The research also points to a parallel process shaping the Himalayan atmosphere. Vertical uplift from the Himalayan foothills injects locally sourced pollutants and pathogens into higher layers of the air. These local microbes then mix with longrange bacterial “travellers” arriving with desert dust, collectively altering the composition of the atmospheric bacterial community over the region.
The toll
2016-May 2018
Amit Bhattacharya, Storms kill more in 5 wks than all of 2017, May 15, 2018: The Times of India
From: Amit Bhattacharya, Storms kill more in 5 wks than all of 2017, May 15, 2018: The Times of India
Storms across the country have killed more people since April 11 than all of last year. Since Sunday, thunderstorms claimed 94 lives across six states, taking the death toll in storms since April to 278.
Fatalities in the first two weeks of May stand at 223, while 55 people died in April. Last year, storms claimed 197 lives, while the toll in 2016 was 216. The figures are based on numbers collated by TOI and those provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Met department scientists said the storms in north India in the past five weeks were unusual both in number and severity.
Cause of weather pattern reversal unclear
The current pattern of wind currents resembles what’s usually seen in winter months.
Outside of the monsoon season, rain and storm activity in north India take place under the influence of western disturbances, waves of air currents coming in from the Mediterranean. “We are seeing the winter pattern of western disturbances in summer this year. Ten western disturbances have affected north India in April-May, while it is usually three-four,” said M Mohapatra, director general (meteorology), IMD.
During winter, the pattern was the reverse. January, which usually gets the maximum number of western disturbances (WD) of about seven, saw just four this year. In December, when the second highest number of these disturbances rolls in, there was just one. In February, five WDs struck against a normal of six. So, the country got just 33% of its normal rainfall in January and February.
“It’s not just the number of WDs that’s important. Whether a WD makes an impact or not depends on its position and intensity. Most of the WDs during the winter months struck in a northerly position, which impacted J&K at most. In the past five weeks, WDs have come in the right direction and intensity to have a big impact,” Mohapatra said.
What caused this reversal of pattern is not clear, but the reasons probably lie in largescale weather features. Since the WDs originate around southern Europe, air currents in that region and in the Atlantic Ocean become important. “The reasons need to be studied. One factor that could be coming into play is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is currently in the positive phase,” Mohapatra said.
See also
Cyclonic winds, cyclones: South Asia
Storms (dust-, hail-, rain-, thunder-): India
