The report comes as India is in the grip of a escalating heat crisis and heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and deadly, threatening lives, livelihoods, public health, agriculture, and economic productivity.
For Asia’s rice bowl, the coming months will be critical. Farmers, traders, and policymakers must prepare for a potentially volatile period that could test food security across the region.
While buffers exist, the interplay of El Niño with other climatic factors underscores the growing importance of climate adaptation in India’s agriculture-dependent economy.
As the federal government aggressively abdicates its traditional leadership role in climate science, the burden of addressing global warming is rapidly shifting to state and local governments, as well as the private sector.
Experts advocate treating care as essential social infrastructure. Expanding services, redistributing unpaid work through policy, and challenging norms that sideline educated women could unlock significant gains.
This 2026 event arrives after earlier haor region floods earlier in the year, underscoring recurring pressures. Migration to urban centres and climate adaptation efforts remain critical long-term challenges.
Experts advocate treating care as essential social infrastructure. Expanding services, redistributing unpaid work through policy, and challenging norms that sideline educated women could unlock significant gains.
Bilateral trade reached $129 billion in 2024, with India enjoying a surplus. US agricultural imports from India rose, but concerns persist over subsidised US products undercutting Indian farmers. Agriculture employs about 42 per cent of India’s population, making it politically explosive – as seen in the 2021 farm law protests.