In the swamplands along Bangladesh’s mighty Padma River, snakes slithering through villages have become an unrelenting menace, leaving residents terrified and hospitals overwhelmed with bite victims.

Doctors and experts warn snakebites are on the rise, driven by heavy rains, shrinking habitats and shifting farming practices.

Bangladesh — among the nations most vulnerable to climate change — has seen nearly 15,000 snakebite admissions this year, with 84 deaths reported so far.

Farmer Ananda Mondol broke down as he recalled how a snake bit his ankle while he was working in a rice field this year.

“I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move,” the 35-year-old from Nimtola, a village in the northern district of Rajshahi, told AFP.

“I vomited, lost control of my bowels, and saliva was coming out of m

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