Srinagar, July 21 -- A concrete building did not simply collapse into the Sukhnag River at Beerwah during this summer showers. It looked as though the river had reached out, seized the structure and dragged it back into its own channel.

Videos of the scene spread quickly, drawing disbelief, sympathy and outrage. Another feeling also surfaced.

Many people admitted that the river had reclaimed the course that always belonged to it.

That image may become the defining picture of Kashmir's summer of 2026.

People often treat floods, cloudbursts and intense rain as isolated disasters. This season tells a different story.

Kashmir now lives through weather that grows harsher with rising temperatures in the Himalayas, while decades of reckless...