Floods in India, Pakistan blamed on lack of planning, climate change

The devastating floods in India and Pakistan are a result of deforestation, unplanned development and climate change, experts said Thursday, and the region could see an increase in such disasters in the coming years.
According to dpa, some 215 people have died since last week in what has been described as the worst flooding to hit India's Jammu and Kashmir state in a century. In Pakistan, the toll climbed to 250.
'The Kashmir floods are a grim reminder that climate change is now hitting India harder,' said Chandra Bhushan from the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi.
'In the last 10 years, several extreme rainfall events have rocked the country and this is the latest calamity in that series.'