India, Dec. 1 -- The 2025 southwest monsoon brought to Punjab its worst flood in four decades. In late August, all the major rivers that flow through the state flooded simultaneously-perhaps for the first time. The disaster was driven by unusually heavy rainfall in Punjab as well as in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and compounded by sudden release of water from swollen dams (see "Plan or perish", Down To Earth, 16-30 September, 2025).

By the time the floodwaters receded in early September, more than 800,000 people had been displaced, with thousands shifting to relief camps. Nearly 0.17 million hectares (ha) of farmland were submerged and infrastructure collapsed as roads, bridges and drainage systems were damaged across district...