Even as the overall flood scenario in the upper Assam districts of Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat has improved slightly in the last couple of days, one cannot rule out the possibility of recurrence of the floods in the weeks to come. The monsoon, already extremely erratic and unpredictable due to climate change, is not yet over. Based on the past decade's experience, it is clear that the rains can last until early October. And more rain in Nagaland means more trouble in store for the upper Assam districts whose rivers originate in the hills of the neighbouring state. This means there are still a little over two months for the flood risk to be over. Looking at the various news reports, one can say that the authorities-both in Assam and Nagaland-have yet to ascertain the actual reason(s) behind this unprecedented flood situation. While initial reports attributed the unprecedented floods to a series of cloudbursts in Nagaland, the Met department has dismissed those. In the meantime, while some reports have blamed the under-construction 186 MW hydroelectric project on the Dikhu River in Nagaland (Dikhow in Assam), there have also been reports of massive deforestation in the hill state recently, which has caused the massive flash floods in the rivers flowing down from the neighbouring states. Assam being a lower riparian state as far as most of its rivers are concerned, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has every right to check with the neighbouring states - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram - as well as with Bhutan about the status of their rivers. Any project or disturbance to the rivers in the neighbouring states will definitely have an adverse impact on the lower riparian states. It is well-known that floods in the western Assam districts are primarily caused by dam construction and subsequent water releases from Bhutan. In the north bank districts bordering Arunachal Pradesh, the reason for floods is the disturbance of the rivers originating or coming down from that state. The same is the case with the rivers of Kamrup (Metro), South Kamrup and Goalpara districts, which come down from Meghalaya. As far as the Barak Valley is concerned, rivers flowing down from Manipur and Mizoram play havoc. In such a situation, the government of Assam should consider the upper Assam floods as an early warning of a worse situation in the near future and take up the issue urgently with the other states.