India, July 7 -- Flood magnitude has decreased in nearly three-fourths of the country in the 40-year period between 1970 and 2010 as compared to the previous 100 years even though flood intensity has increased in early or pre-monsoon period in north-western Himalayan and Malabar region in peninsular India, according to a new study based on water flow data from 173 gauges across India.

The study, 'The changing magnitude and timing of riverine floods in India', published last week in peer reviewed journal, Nature, comes at the time when flash floods caused by extreme rainfall have caused death of 148 persons in Himachal (78) and Uttarakhand (70) since the onset of monsoon on June 1. Most of these deaths have taken place in the later part o...