India, June 4 -- South Asia is among the regions most vulnerable to the climate crisis, according to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). That vulnerability is being intensified by rapid population growth, poverty, water scarcity, weak governance and growing tensions over transboundary rivers.

Few regions in the world have been shaped by rivers as profoundly as South Asia. The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river systems have sustained civilisations, economies and cultures for centuries. Yet today, climate change and geopolitical competition are placing these shared rivers under unprecedented strain.

The climate crisis is already disrupting Himalayan glaciers, monsoon patterns and river fl...