In August and early September, successive cloudbursts and floods left the Himalayan plains and adjoining areas reeling. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and even parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are grappling with widespread damage to crops, roads, and homes. Farmers across these regions are facing losses at a scale rarely seen in recent years. The agricultural deficit in pulses, vegetables, paddy, maize, and oilseeds has been devastating for the country.
Himalayan Tragedies, Plains in Peril
In Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu and Mandi districts, hundreds of smallholder farmers reported near-total losses of potato, maize, and vegetable crops. Potatoes, a key commercial crop for the region, were particularly affected. Fields in villages like Banjar and Aut were submerged in muddy torrents or buried under landslides. Similarly, maize fields in high-altitude hamlets of Lahaul-Spiti—vital for food and fodder—were washed away or rendered infertile by sediment deposits.
In Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts, pulses such as lentils and rajma, along with vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, were flattened by flash floods. Farmers in villages like Ghansali and Dharali watched helplessly as their entire harvest disappeared within minutes. The destruction of terraced fields has compromised centuries-old farming systems that sustained generations.
Reports from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar region are equally grim. Small farmers, already struggling with difficult terrain and limited irrigation, saw their mustard and wheat fields waterlogged and eroded.
The Eastern Himalayan belt also suffered. In Sikkim, floods in the Teesta Valley inundated paddies at the tillering stage. In Arunachal Pradesh, orange and maize orchards in the Lohit and Siang valleys were badly damaged. Similarly, Assam’s Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts endured repeated floods, submerging green gram and maize fields.
The damage extended beyond mountain states. The plains adjoining the Himalayan arc also bore the brunt. Punjab faced its worst floods in four decades, with August rainfall 74% above normal. Around 70,000 hectares of farmland were submerged, hitting paddy, sugarcane, and cotton:
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Paddy (tillering stage): Waterlogging is expected to reduce yields by 5–10%.
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Sugarcane: Prolonged submergence has increased the risk of red rot.
Vegetable losses in Punjab were stark, with early cauliflower yields down by 10–15% in Amritsar and Ludhiana. Pear and guava orchards showed fungal infections, while tomato transplanting was delayed—raising concerns of a weaker winter supply.
Rajasthan also reported widespread losses. Districts including Ajmer, Tonk, Kota, Bundi, and Jaipur suffered heavy rainfall. Bajra in the flowering stage was lodged, threatening yields. Soybean, groundnut, and pulses were affected by submerged soils, stem rot, and poor pod setting.
In Uttar Pradesh, localised but notable damage occurred. Along the Yamuna and Ganga basins in Lakhimpur, Gonda, and Bahraich, paddy fields were partially submerged. Vegetables like cucurbits in Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur were destroyed. Chilli crops in eastern UP districts such as Varanasi and Mirzapur experienced flower drop. In Bundelkhand, heavy rains hampered groundnut and soybean sowing, while pulses such as green gram and black gram were wiped out. Bihar too reported recurrent floods in Supaul and Madhubani, forcing repeated replanting of paddy and maize.
Southern states saw mixed fortunes. Telangana endured severe flooding, with crop yields hit at the flowering stage, though paddy and maize fared better. In Karnataka, tomatoes, onions, and gourds were threatened by blight and mildew in waterlogged soils.
The devastation of recent months is not just a tale of nature’s fury but a warning for India’s agricultural security. Relief efforts must evolve into genuine resilience, with policies that support both sustainable farming and disaster preparedness.
Gaps in Post-Disaster Relief Measures
Despite significant crop losses in the aftermath of climatic disasters across major Indian states, systemic gaps persist in post-disaster relief mechanisms. Delays in the declaration of the disaster forecast have held up compensation and logistic support, exacerbating farmers’ distress, especially in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Even when compensation is released, it rarely matches the actual value of lost crops, as seen in Punjab for crop loss within 2023-2025. The state announced Rs 20,000 per acre, which falls short of actual production loss estimates that can reach up to Rs 27,830 for paddy and Rs 30,219 per acre for cotton.
According to the 2022-2024 official data, the monetary damage to crops from floods was estimated at Rs 18,171.64 crores in a single year, with around 1500 lakh hectares covered by insurance, while only a minority of farmers benefited from timely payouts. These gaps highlight the country’s negligence towards agro-dependent livelihoods.
Policy Suggestions for Long-Term Resilience
The approach to natural disasters must shift from reactive to proactive. All concerned agencies should work in harmony under the district disaster management plans. Departments such as the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF), local police, administration, electricity, and water and sanitation must be strengthened with advanced climate intelligence tools.
Leveraging hyperlocal, real-time environmental data platforms can provide precise, actionable insights for early warning, risk mapping, and resource allocation. For example, India-based Ambee’s Gspatial.ai platform offers high-resolution real-time geospatial intelligence for climate risk assessment and disaster preparedness. Yet India has not fully tapped this indigenous capability, missing a vital opportunity to modernise its disaster response framework.
Finally, moving beyond short-term relief requires resilience-oriented planning. Developing region-specific agricultural risk maps and mandating pre-disaster contingency planning at the panchayat level are essential steps.
Addressing the rural tragedy of crop loss requires a fundamental shift from reactive relief to proactive disaster risk management. Strengthening institutions, using advanced climate intelligence, and embedding resilience planning at the grassroots are critical to safeguarding India’s agricultural future and food security in an era of intensifying climate extremes.