Overview
- Unseasonal rain, hail and strong winds have disrupted wheat harvesting across Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and India’s Punjab and Maharashtra, flattening fields and slowing work.
- Meteorological agencies issued new warnings for more storms in early April, keeping fields wet and forcing farmers to pause cutting and threshing until conditions improve.
- Pakistan’s target of about 30 million tonnes for the current Rabi season now looks vulnerable, with experts noting that wet grain cannot be threshed, requires sun to dry and can turn discoloured, which cuts market prices.
- In Indian Punjab, officials reported heavy lodging and said full loss estimates will follow once rains ease, while agronomists warned that prolonged moisture during ripening can reduce both yield and quality.
- In Maharashtra, the chief minister promised assistance as surveys continue, with officials noting damage on more than 1.22 lakh hectares and the agriculture minister citing a higher preliminary figure of up to five lakh hectares, while farmer leaders pressed for faster loans, pending waiver payouts and better insurance.