CropsErosion by the Teesta at Hatibandha, Lalmonirhat, and Gangachara, Rangpur, has swallowed 27 families' homes in a week and at least 50 acres of farmland with standing aman; farmers have cut 17.5 bighas of unripe rice to feed their cattle before the land goes.
LivestockThe Teesta chars of Sundarganj, Gaibandha, are now grazing land; researchers say carcasses of anthrax-killed animals dumped in the river make spores in the char grass more likely, so animals must be vaccinated every year.
CropsAman covers 22,800 hectares on 180 Teesta chars in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari, with a good crop; farmers fear a rise in the river will drown low-lying paddy before it is cut.
BangladeshThe Tista Meander Floodplain, Bangladesh's third agro-ecological zone, covers nearly a million hectares from Panchagarh to Bogura. Old river courses left it a patchwork of quick-draining ridges and wetter basins, acidic soils short of several nutrients, and farms that grow rice, potatoes, maize and mustard side by side. New research at Rangpur shows four and five crops a year are possible, and satellite data and artificial intelligence could help match each field to the right crop, if their advice is tested in farmers' fields first.
BangladeshBangladesh's second agro-ecological zone is a narrow, restless belt along the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers. Here the river builds new land and takes old land away, and farmers grow maize, potatoes, chillies and carrots on chars that may vanish in the next flood. Understanding it takes village-level records, and satellite images and machine learning can help only when they are checked in farmers' fields.
The Teesta began to recede in Nilphamari on 5 August as upstream rain and hill runoff eased, but fear remains after the water damaged seasonal vegetables, groundnut and maize.
EnvironmentOn 20 July 2026 the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said floods could develop or worsen within 24 to 48 hours in low-lying riverside areas of the Rangpur, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Rajshahi regions, with flash floods possible in places.
EnvironmentOn 18 July 2026 the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre warned that heavy rain upstream in Assam could push the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar over danger level within two days, while the Kushiyara was already above it at two points.
Heavy rain and upstream run-off have pushed the Teesta above the danger level at Dalia point, raising fears of a fourth flood in two months.
EnvironmentHeavy rain and hill runoff pushed the Teesta to 12 cm below the danger level at the Teesta Barrage's Dalia point on the evening of 7 July 2026, and forecasters warned it could cross the mark within 24 to 48 hours.
The Teesta in Lalmonirhat rose above the danger mark on 23 June after upstream runoff and heavy rain, leaving riverside people fearing floods and erosion.
Rivers in Kurigram are still below danger level but rising, and the Water Development Board warns low-lying char areas along the Teesta may flood within 72 hours.
Upstream hill water and continuous rain have pushed the Teesta in Lalmonirhat to within 15 centimetres of the danger level, raising fears of flooding downstream.
