It has been over a month since the southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 4, 2026. The season usually sees India preparing itself for usual threats like floods, urban waterlogging, rural crop failure and diseases spread via insects. However, we leave one danger out of the debate and that too one of the deadliest public health crises in the country - the number of lives lost from snakebites.
During the southwest monsoon (June-September), snakes come out of their burrows due to the increase in agricultural activities and disturbances to their habitat, increasing the number of encounters between them and humans.
The majority of the population affected lives in rural areas of India where people have limited access to emergency medical services. Due to this limit of access, many rural people encounter long delays while waiting for treatment and often die as a result.
This was consistent with the results of a World Health Organization (WHO) report on snakebite mortality in India which demonstrated that 97 per cent of all deaths from snakebite in the country occurred outside of urban areas; 59 per cent of the victims of snakebite were male; and the majority of snakebite deaths in the country occurred in the 15-29 age group, which makes up the economically productive portion of the population.
The WHO conducted two major studies which indicate that the number of snakebites and deaths in India are severely underestimated. The first major community-based study found that in 2005 there were over 45,900 deaths, which is over 30 times higher than the Government of India’s official figure. The estimates have been subsequently revised based on verbal autopsy records and mortality trends and indicate that in India there were approximately 1.2 million deaths from snakebite envenoming from 2000 to 2019 on an average of 58,000 per year.
In recognition of the burden that snakebite places on the population, the WHO included snakebite envenoming as one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in 2017. The declaration that snakebite is an NTD is very important. NTDs are diseases that have a higher incidence and higher prevalence among poorer populations, in tropical and rural areas, and have received significantly less institutional support including health-system prioritisation, funding and allocation of resources for both the treatment of individuals and the treatment of the disease.
Unfortunately, the government’s data continues to tell a different story. According to the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence in India (2016-2020), there are 300,000 reported snakebite cases in India each year, with only about 2,000 deaths due to snakebite envenoming.
According to a response from the Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, only eight states in India - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha - have declared snakebite cases and deaths as “notifiable” under Public Health Regulations.
In public health governance, a disease being declared “notifiable” means healthcare institutions are required to mandatorily report cases and deaths to state authorities. Therefore, better quality data on district incidence, mortality, number of deaths and shortage of anti-venoms provide better planning opportunities. Without reliable data on incidences and deaths at the district level as well as the number of times anti-venoms are in short supply, response policies remain fragmented.
In 2024, senior Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy raised concerns about snakebite management in the Lok Sabha and presented a Private Members’ Bill to strengthen the Institutional Response mechanism’s performance. The Bill includes provisions for providing anti-venom at sub-district hospitals, providing free medical treatment on time and rehabilitation support to affected families, as well as reptile conservation and protection legislation. That is because eliminating reptiles by fear alone cannot solve the problem of snakebite management.
While India is home to more than 310 species of snakes, of which around 66 are venomous. Yet, nearly 90 per cent of medically significant snakebite cases are attributed to the so-called “Big Four” — the Indian cobra, Common krait, Russell’s viper, and Saw-scaled viper. This concentration means region-specific anti-venom distribution and awareness systems can potentially reduce mortality significantly.
The government has also launched National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) in 2024 with the aim of reducing annual deaths and disabilities caused by snakebite by 50 per cent by 2030. NAPSE aims to reduce the number of deaths and complications caused by snakebites through four strategies: (1) providing better access to treatment, (2) providing better information, (3) monitoring snakebites and the environment, and (4) improving the health system to reduce the risk of snakebites. The progress of this plan is not known so far.
Climate change is also reshaping the challenges associated with snakebite risk. Spiking temperatures, rising variations in rainfall patterns, flooding, land use and ecological changes will continue to increase the number of interactions between humans and reptiles. For example, during the rainy season, snakes often move from burrows and their normal habitats and into agricultural fields or urban areas. Simultaneously, changes in the climate will be affecting the movement and behaviour of reptiles, increasing the likelihood of them coming into contact with populations that are already vulnerable due to a lack of access to health care.
Consequently, this issue is broader than just healthcare; there is also a regulatory aspect to it. While the Constitution allows the states to play a significant role in public health, they do not have the power to declare snakebites and related deaths as “notifiable events”. Only eight states have made snakebites a ‘mandatory reportable event’, despite widespread media coverage regarding the fact that there is a nationwide problem related to snakebites. Without increased or compulsory reporting of these snakebite deaths, they will continue to be underreported, resulting in inaccurate policy decisions that will be based on unreliable numbers.
The central government has an opportunity to be much more involved than it currently is. For example, there is a strong case for including snakebite mortality in the broad framework of disaster relief, particularly during the monsoon season when snakebite morbidity/mortality rates are at their highest level. Similar to natural disasters (such as drought and flooding), snakebite deaths disproportionately occur in low-income rural families and generally affect a family’s main economic contributor.
One possible solution would be for the National Disaster Management Agency to develop and provide to state governments guidelines for snakebite preparedness and solicit the use of these guidelines as part of state specific disaster compensation programs. Some states already provide compensation for snakebite related deaths, thus demonstrating that an administrative structure does exist for such a system.
Therefore, when the monsoon season begins, in addition to being prepared for flood events, governments should also be prepared for snakebite events. This will take much more than just awareness campaigns.
Abhay Tomar is Research Associate, Office of Member of Parliament; Director, PALIPRAYAS Foundation, and former LAMP fellow 2024-25
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth