Disaster in India’s Breadbasket as Punjab Hit by Deadly Floods

Punjab, India’s agricultural heartland long known as the nation’s “breadbasket,” is reeling from record monsoon floods that have submerged vast swathes of farmland, destroyed paddy crops, and left behind the stench of rotting harvests and livestock.

Heavy rains, nearly two-thirds above the seasonal average in August, inundated areas comparable in size to London and New York City combined, killing at least 52 people and displacing hundreds of thousands. Villages such as Shehzada and Toor, near Amritsar and along the Ravi river, have been devastated—fields turned to marshland, homes cracked and collapsing, and waters rising more than 10 feet in a single night.

While floods and landslides are a familiar feature of the South Asian monsoon, scientists warn that climate change, compounded by poor urban planning and unchecked development, is amplifying their scale and severity. Local officials call this one of Punjab’s worst disasters in decades, drawing comparisons to the catastrophic floods of 1988. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged $180 million in relief, but for farmers staring at ruined harvests and mounting losses, the future of Punjab’s role as India’s grain hub is in jeopardy.