Ganges river delta

NASA

Rivers in the Himalayan region of Asia often flood during heavy rain, killing people and animals and destroying crops. The countries affected — Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan — are home to millions of poor people.

In this article, Navin Singh Khadka reports on how these countries have been trying to share information on weather conditions and river flow to warn each other about impending floods.

The World Meteorological Organization and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development brought official from the Asian countries together to promote collaborative forecasting.

The two organisations have set up a website to share the data but experts say that some of the countries have been reluctant to share information. They say this reticence might have contributed to increasing the death toll and loss of property in floods since the initiative began.

Link to full BBC Online article