The streets of Lahore resembled canals on Thursday, August 1. Knee-deep in water, pedestrians made their way as best they could, while motorcyclists slowly split the waters. Tuk-tuk drivers pushed their stalled machines along the flooded roadway. Record rain fell on Thursday morning in Pakistan's second-largest city, with a population of 13 million. Some 360 millimeters of water fell in just three hours. More than 40 years ago, Lahore was the scene of similar rainfall. On July 31, 1982, the record was set at 332 millimetres.

The downpour flooded several neighborhoods, rushing into homes and even affecting the city's two main hospitals. Three people died in Lahore on Thursday, bringing the monsoon death toll to over a hundred. In July, 99 people fell victim to incidents linked to torrential rains in Punjab, as well as in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Indian capital, some 500 kilometers from Lahore, was not spared. By Wednesday evening, torrential downpours had submerged the roads of New Delhi, blocking the already chaotic traffic in this sprawling megalopolis of over 30 million inhabitants. Nine people died in the city, according to a count by the local press. Several were victims of electrocution, others drowned or were buried under the debris of a collapsed building. In less than 24 hours, the equivalent of a fifth of the usual rainfall expected between July and September fell. All schools in the capital remained closed on Thursday.

A few days earlier, on July 27, the death of three students, trapped in a flooded library in the basement of a private school, aroused indignation and anger. At the end of June, 228 millimeters of water had already fallen on New Delhi, the equivalent of three times the rainfall for the whole month of June in just a few hours. This was the rainiest 24 hours since 1966.

The elements are on the rampage, causing disasters across South Asia. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, three people died on Thursday and at least 40 are missing after heavy rains washed away houses, flooded roads and damaged infrastructure.

In the southern Indian state of Kerala, torrential rains caused landslides on July 30. Two entire villages were completely swept away by torrents of mud in the Wayanad district, famous for its tea and cardamom plantations. Rescue operations are continuing, but hope of finding survivors has now faded, more than 72 hours after the tragedy. Some 200 people were killed in the landslides and over 180 are still missing. The Indian Meteorological Department said the Wayanad district had received up to 280 millimeters of rain on Monday and Tuesday.

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