Vehicles stuck in the floodwater in Sylhet, Bangladesh, May 17, 2022. Many roads have been submerged due to continuous high rains for several days.
Md Rafayat Haque Khan | Eyepix Group | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Severe floods in parts of Bangladesh and India have killed at least 24 people and left thousands of people displaced in recent weeks, as extreme weather events fueled by climate change become more frequent and intense across South Asia.
Flood waters have submerged villages in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam and have impacted roughly two million people in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The rains have washed away villages, inundated roads, damaged crops and cut off access to drinking water and electricity for some people, according to local news reports.
Scientists say that extreme rainfall events in low-lying nations like India and Bangladesh are on the rise, driven by global warming and changes in the timing of the monsoons.
The rains come as India also grapples with a record-breaking heat wave that’s forced millions of people to change how they work and live. The heat was made over 100 times more likely because of climate change, according to an analysis published last week.
Army soldiers evacuate a villager in Assam state, India
Army soldiers evacuate a flood-affected villager after heavy rains in Hojai district of India’s Assam state on May 19, 2022.
Biju Boro | AFP | Getty Images
People travel through flood waters in Sylhet, Bangladesh
People wade through the floodwater, May 17, 2022 in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Many roads in Sylhet have been submerged due to continuous high rains for several days.
Md Rafayat Haque Khan | Eyepix Group | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Houses are inundated by rains in Beanibazar, Bangladesh
This aerial photograph shows houses inundated following heavy rains in Beanibazar, Bangladesh on May 21, 2022.
AFP | Getty Images
Doctor examines villager at mobile medical camp in Assam state, India
A doctor examines a flood-affected villager at a mobile medical camp in Hojai district of India’s Assam state on May 19, 2022.
Biju Boro | AFP | Getty Images
People wade through flooded area in Assam state, India
People wade through a road damaged by flood waters after heavy rains in Nagaon district, Assam state, on May 19, 2022.
Biju Boro | AFP | Getty Images
Man transports gas cylinders through flood waters in Sylhet, Bangladesh
A man transports Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders on a on a rickshaw van along a path next to the banks of the overflown Surma River following heavy rainfalls in Sylhet, Bangladesh on May 19, 2022.
Mamun Hossain | AFP | Getty Images
Villagers take a boat over flooded area in Assam state, India
Villagers travel on a boat through a flooded area after heavy rains in Nagaon district, Assam state, on May 19, 2022.
Biju Boro | AFP | Getty Images
Villagers lead their cattle to a partially flooded road in Assam state, India
Villagers lead their cattle to a partially flooded road after travelling on a boat through flood waters following heavy rains in Nagaon district, Assam state, India, on May 19, 2022.
Biju Boro | AFP | Getty Images
Villagers wade through a flooded zone in Assam state, India
Villagers wade through a flooded area of Bakula Guri village in Nagaon district of India’s northeastern state of Assam, May 15, 2022.
Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
— The Associated Press contributed reporting
