Two Climate Disasters, 150 km Apart: How Drought in Terai and Floods in the Hills Are Devastating Lives and Livelihoods in Nepal

Madhesh Battling Severe Drought (25 July 2025) Madhesh Province is currently grappling with a severe drought. The paddy plants in the fields are starting to dry up, and cracks have begun to appear in the soil. The situation has become so dire that the government has officially declared the region a disaster-affected zone and deployed technical teams to assess the impact. According to the Center for Crop Development and Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation under the Department of Agriculture, only 46% of the total paddy fields in Madhesh had been planted by mid-July. As the region is one of Nepal’s major rice-producing areas, this delay poses a serious threat to food security and the livelihoods of thousands of farmers unless urgent relief and long-term solutions are implemented. Flash Flood Strikes Rasuwa, Disrupts Life (8 July 2025) On July 8, 2025, a sudden flash flood surged down from Tibet’s Lhende River and struck Nepal’s Rasuwa district with devastating force....