Doomdooma, Nov. 15 -- The growing sight of sprinklers spraying water across tea plantations in eastern Assam's Tinsukia district reflects the mounting pressure that changing weather patterns are placing on the state's tea industry.

With prolonged dry spells and increasingly irregular rainfall affecting soil moisture, tea estates are relying more on artificial irrigation to sustain plantations traditionally dependent on seasonal rains.

"Tea is a crop that responds to the rhythm of nature. When rainfall becomes irregular and the soil loses moisture, the bushes cannot produce fresh shoots at their normal pace. Sprinkler irrigation can provide temporary relief, but it increases the cost of cultivation and cannot completely compensate for th...