The Mayhem in May
Also this week, the state of death registration in post-pandemic India, and why Ludhiana's hosiery industry is facing a crisis
What a month it’s been!
From unexpected downpours to data gaps and a hosiery industry in distress, May 2025 has kept India on its toes. This week, we’re diving into three stories that capture the pulse of these challenges--unseasonal rains disrupting farms, a critical gap in death certification data, and Ludhiana’s hosiery sector grappling with a worker exodus.
Each story reveals a piece of India’s complex journey through climate, governance, and economic resilience.
Heatwave, they said, but rain causes chaos
May 2025 has been a wild ride, weather-wise. It was all set for another scorching month, but India got hit with a deluge instead--85.7% more rain than usual. Central India is drowning with five times its normal rainfall, and the South is not far behind at 2.5 times. The southwest monsoon crashed into Kerala on May 24, eight days early and the earliest monsoon landfall since 2009.
Thunderstorms and hailstorms cooled things down, but left chaos in their wake--think flight cancellations, traffic snarls, and sadly, massive crop losses for farmers like Govind Kushwaha in Uttar Pradesh, whose banana crop took a beating. Mango growers aren’t faring much better either. The IMD’s M. Mohapatra says May's excess rainfall will not mess with the ‘above normal’ monsoon forecast, with June expecting 8% extra rain. Blame it on quirky western disturbances and a warming Arabian Sea--climate change is shaking things up! Tanvi Deshpande and Mithilesh Dhar Dubey report.
The dilemmas around death data
The numbers tell a story: death registrations spiked 33% from 2019 to 2021, hitting 10.2 million, but only 23% were medically certified, up just a smidge from 21%. That’s a big gap in knowing why people are passing, which experts say is critical for planning healthcare, especially post-Covid. Birth registrations, meanwhile, dipped to 24.2 million in 2021, down 2.5% from 2019, though they’re up 4.6% since 2015 thanks to grassroots heroes like ASHAs and ANMs.
These figures are not just for data geeks to pore over--they are key to accessing education, healthcare, and more. But here’s the kicker: urban areas dominate death certifications, and men’s deaths are recorded far more than women’s, with only 602 certified female deaths per 1,000 male ones. Rural healthcare gaps and gender disparities are real hurdles, and India’s data-driven future depends on fixing this. Prachi Salve and Nushaiba Iqbal dig into the numbers.
Ludhiana Hosiery Crisis: Workers Flee, Production Stalls
Ludhiana’s hosiery industry, the heartbeat of India’s winter clothing market, is in a bind. With over 12,000 units generating a whopping ₹14,000 crore annually, this Punjab hub produces 80% of the country’s warm clothing--think jackets, sweaters, and thermals for markets across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and beyond.
Normally, factories kick into high gear by March-April to supply winter wear for October-December. But this year, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, sparked war-like tensions between India and Pakistan, hitting Ludhiana hard. Fearing the worst, many workers fled and haven’t returned, leaving factories struggling to keep up production. Local hosiery businesses are reeling as they face delays and disruptions, with the peak season looming. It’s a tough time for an industry that keeps India warm, and the ripple effects could hit markets nationwide. Mithilesh Dhar Dubey has a video report for IndiaSpend Hindi.