New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- Assam is the latest victim of a pattern that is becoming normalized in India to a dangerous extent. Another year, the headline may name Bihar, a Himalayan district or a coastal city where a familiar hazard has acquired an unfamiliar intensity.

Assam's floods this monsoon have claimed 87 lives and affected 349 villages and hundreds of thousands of people across seven districts, with the chief minister describing water levels as unseen in half a century. Upper Assam is not accustomed to such inundation.

The suffering reveals a story of policy mismatches.

This tragedy needs to be understood against Assam's wider climate risk landscape. The Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of 2025 places the state fifth among ...