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Austria Battles Major Flooding after Record Downpours

A view of the sunset during a heatwave as temperatures reached more than 36 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, at Lake Zicksee, Austria, August 15, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the sunset during a heatwave as temperatures reached more than 36 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, at Lake Zicksee, Austria, August 15, 2024. (Reuters)
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Austria Battles Major Flooding after Record Downpours

A view of the sunset during a heatwave as temperatures reached more than 36 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, at Lake Zicksee, Austria, August 15, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the sunset during a heatwave as temperatures reached more than 36 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, at Lake Zicksee, Austria, August 15, 2024. (Reuters)

Heavy rains lashed Alpine regions of Austria and left parts of Vienna under water at the weekend, causing severe damage in parts of the country and disrupting road and rail transport, authorities and local media said.

Fast-moving torrents of muddy water swept cars through the ski resort of St. Anton, in western Austria, on Friday, footage posted on social media showed. Meanwhile record rainfall hit parts of Vienna in the east of the country on Saturday, state broadcaster ORF said.

A woman was dragged under a bus by the force of flooding in the Doebling area in the north of the city on Saturday, ORF said. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition, it added.

Fire services in the capital were called out more than 450 times on Saturday as the downpours caused traffic chaos and disrupted rail transport, according to ORF.

"Heavy storms have done great damage in many parts of Austria," Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on X, thanking officials who were working to clear up the damage.

In Vienna's Doebling district, officials registered 110 liters of rain per square meter, which ORF Vienna meteorologist Kevin Hebenstreit said was a record for August rainfall in the city.

A large proportion of Vienna's average summer rainfall hit on Saturday in just one hour, according to weather data firm UBIMET.

On average in August it rains a total of 68 liters per square meter, with the all-time record being 139 liters on May 15, 1885, according to ORF.

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The Himalayas Getting Harder to See Due to Severe Pollution

A general view of the snowcapped Himalayan mountain range as pictured from the border town of Poonch in India's Jammu region on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)
A general view of the snowcapped Himalayan mountain range as pictured from the border town of Poonch in India's Jammu region on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)
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The Himalayas Getting Harder to See Due to Severe Pollution

A general view of the snowcapped Himalayan mountain range as pictured from the border town of Poonch in India's Jammu region on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)
A general view of the snowcapped Himalayan mountain range as pictured from the border town of Poonch in India's Jammu region on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)

Navin Singh Khadka grew up in Nepal's capital watching the Himalayas. Ever since he left, he has missed sweeping, panoramic views of some of the highest mountain peaks on Earth.

“Each time I visit Kathmandu, I hope to catch a glimpse of the dramatic mountain range. But these days, there's usually no luck,” he told BBC, adding that the main culprit is severe air pollution that hangs as haze above the region.

“And it's happening even during the spring and autumn months, which once offered clear skies,” Singh Khadka said.

Just last April, the international flight he was in had to circle in the sky nearly 20 times before landing in Kathmandu, because of the hazy weather impacting visibility at the airport.

“The hotel I checked in at was at a reasonable height from which mountains are visible on a clear day – but there was no such day during my two-week stay,” he said.

Even from the major vantage point of Nagarkot, just outside Kathmandu, all that could be seen was haze, as if the mountains did not exist, he added.

Yogendra Shakya, who has been operating a hotel at Nagarkot since 1996, said, “I no longer brand the place for views of 'sunrise, sunset and Himalayas' as I did in the past.”

“Since you can't have those things mostly now because of the haze, I have rebranded it with history and culture as there are those tourism products as well here,” Shakya added.

During an earlier trip a year ago, Singh Khadka was hopeful he would be able to see the mighty Himalayan peaks on a trek in the mesmerizing Annapurna region – but had hardly any luck there either.

Scientists say hazy conditions in the region are becoming increasingly intense and lasting longer, reducing visibility significantly.

Haze is formed by a combination of pollutants like dust and smoke particles from fires, reducing visibility to less than 5,000 m. It remains stagnant in the sky during the dry season - which now lasts longer due to climate change.