Combined effects of climate and geology caused 2024 Wayanad landslide: study
This is a news report, not an opinion piece. It covers a new study published in Landslides, an international peer-reviewed journal, which means other specialists checked the method and the evidence before it appeared. The study asks why the 2024 landslide in Kerala's Wayanad district became as destructive as it did, and answers that the extraordinary rain was only half the story. The rock beneath the slope, the shape of the valley and the cracks running through the rock decided where the hillside broke and how far the debris travelled. The work was carried out jointly by researchers from the University of Kerala, IISER Mohali and Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Where this sits
- GS1Important geophysical phenomena — landslides; physical geography of India
- GS3Disaster and disaster management; vulnerability and risk reduction
- GS3Science and technology — remote sensing and geospatial applications
- EssayDevelopment and environment; living with natural hazards
Points discussed
Rain alone does not explain it
The study's central claim is that the 2024 Wayanad landslide cannot be attributed to extreme rainfall alone. Geological, geomorphological and structural factors also shaped the event. The rain was real and extraordinary, but it is only one half of the explanation.
Trigger versus the framework beneath
In the researchers' own words, extreme rainfall acted as the immediate trigger, while the pre-existing geological framework determined where the slope failed, how the debris moved and why the event became exceptionally destructive. This is the single most quotable line in the report.
Three kinds of underlying factor
Geological factors are the rock itself — how hard it is and how deeply it has weathered into soft soil. Geomorphological factors are the shape of the land, including steepness and how the valley narrows. Structural factors are the joints and fractures cut through the rock.
Fieldwork nine months later
The team carried out extensive field investigations across the affected valley in April 2025. Geological mapping ran from Chooralmala to Punchirimattam, and rock samples were brought back and analysed in the laboratory.
LiDAR where nobody could stand
The crown of the landslide — the top edge of the scar, where the hillside first tore away — remained unsafe to access. It was therefore investigated using drone-mounted LiDAR and high-resolution aerial imagery instead of on foot.
Three institutions, one peer-reviewed journal
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Kerala, IISER Mohali and Savitribai Phule Pune University, and published in Landslides. Peer review means specialists examined the method before publication; it raises confidence without making a finding final.
Among the worst recorded in the Ghats
The study describes the event as one of the most destructive landslides recorded in the Western Ghats. That ranking is the report's own characterisation of scale, and it is why the causal question matters beyond a single valley.
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Subscribe to unlock the Mains angle, MCQs and the model question.Summary and analysis are written by The Insight Express and reviewed before publishing. We link to the original report; we do not reproduce it.