Shillong: East Jaintia Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and West Khasi Hills are Meghalaya's most climate-vulnerable districts. A study published in Discover Sustainability in 2026 highlights a sharp gap in agricultural safety across the state's 11 districts. Experts at the Meghalaya Climate Change Centre crunched the numbers using 14 distinct indicators.
East Jaintia Hills hit the highest vulnerability index at 0.784. South West Khasi Hills followed at 0.778, while West Khasi Hills sat at 0.674. Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills, and South Garo Hills also fell into the high-risk category. North Garo Hills and East Garo Hills landed in the middle, while West Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills showed the lowest vulnerability.
Climate exposure is not the only problem. Weak roads, limited credit, and bad market infrastructure hurt farmers. Five specific factors drove half of the state's total vulnerability score: road density, market access, livestock ratios, natural resource management, and Kisan Credit Card usage. Researchers noted that "vulnerability was not determined by climate exposure alone."
East Jaintia Hills suffered most from low livestock ownership and poor connectivity. Meghalaya relies heavily on rain-fed crops like rice and maize. Less than 10 percent of the state land is currently under cultivation. Extreme weather and soil degradation now threaten future food security.
The 2025 State Action Plan on Climate Change intends to fix these gaps. Researchers want district-specific planning. They insist that local, traditional knowledge must work alongside new science to secure the future of farming across the state.
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