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NEW DELHI — The scenic mountain valley looked like a war zone in seconds.

“Guys, we have to run!” A man filming the devastation in a hillside town in northern India on Sunday, landslides caused by incessant monsoon rains sent heavy boulders rolling down a steep slope.

At least nine people were killed when a rock struck their vehicle. On the west coast of the country, where heavy rains have flooded entire towns and villages, the death toll with 100 reported missing has risen to at least 164.

India’s monsoons have always come in rage. But experts say the scenes of death and destruction in the country are another reminder of the urgency of climate change. A warming climate means heavy rainfall in many parts of the world. scientists said.

Record rainfall central china and West Europe they have killed many people and displaced many in recent weeks. On Saturday, authorities in the Philippines evacuated thousands of people The capital Manila and nearby provinces were flooded after a tropical storm.

“The threat of rising sea levels is something we often overlook and underestimate,” said Roxy Koll, a climate scientist and co-author in India. A study published last week On how a warming climate will make heat waves and cyclones more frequent and more severe in India.

“Climate change is a threat multiplier,” co-authors Mr Koll and Chirag Dhara, an assistant professor at Krea University in southeast Andhra Pradesh, wrote in the study. “In the absence of rapid, informed and far-reaching mitigation and adaptation measures, the effects of climate change are likely to pose major challenges in sustaining the country’s rapid economic growth.”

India’s agricultural economy is largely monsoon rain. Too little means drought and too much can cause catastrophic flooding. While heavy rains destroy fertile topsoil, droughts deplete groundwater reserves in many parts of the country that have been declining for years. Together they caused Misery and death on India’s farms.

Throughout the weekend, heavy rains continued to pound the western state of Maharashtra as rescuers struggled to reach areas cut off by flooding and landslides. Workers dug the mud and transported people by boat to areas where the waters reached the tops of the houses.

About 300,000 people have been evacuated and thousands remain in aid camps, state officials said on Monday. There have been more than 250 deaths in the state related to the monsoon season since it started last month.

Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra’s senior official, said on Twitter He said his helicopter was unable to land due to “low visibility” while trying to visit flood-affected areas in the Satara region.

India’s meteorological department is forecasting “highly common to widespread precipitation” in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country for the next two days.

About 1,000 miles from Maharashtra in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, authorities said on Monday at least 100 people were stranded after the mountainside landslide and rescue efforts are continuing.

video footage pointed to heavy rocks knocking down a metal bridge. The rocks crashed into vehicles and fell into a nearby river, making sounds like giant splashes and exploding bombs.

“The accident caused by the landslide in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh is very sad,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. said on Twitter. “I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.”

Mr. Modi announced that the families of the deceased had been paid 200,000 rupees or more than $2,500 in compensation.