By November, as the festival lights of Diwali fade and winter approaches, Guwahati usually enjoys cooler evenings, lower humidity, and a calm that signals the close of the tea-harvesting season. But in recent years, this rhythm has grown uncertain. Persistent heat, delayed rainfall, and muggy air now linger well past October, blurring the boundaries of Assam’s once-distinct seasons.

For tea growers, these shifts from the traditional climatic cycle aren’t just uncomfortable: they’re existential.

The tea plant was introduced to Assam in the 19th century and has since become both a global commodity and the economic lifeline for over 12 lakh workers, many of them women. Yet its fragile harmony with the local environment is being tested.

Extended dry spells, abrupt downpours, rising night-ti

See Full Page