On a rainy day, a snake does not distinguish that the dry spot it finds belongs to a human. This could be a garage, a storeroom, a pile of building materials, a drain, a garden, a car hood, or the space under a bed. If its usual shelter is flooded with water, the animal simply looks for another place to survive.
This is one of the reasons why snake encounters are becoming more frequent in the rainy months of India. In the past, during the monsoon, such cases were recorded in both apartment buildings and university campuses. In Agra, rescuers reported over a hundred calls to rescue snakes between June and mid-July, and in Kashmir, snakes inside car hoods and chicken coops were also reported.
Although such observations can generate striking photographs, the scale of the problem is difficult to measure because many bites never enter the official healthcare system, according to the National Center for Disease Control of India's Guidelines for Standard Snakebite Treatment. The document notes that many victims first consult traditional healers and do not register at hospitals.
A new study published in PLOS Medicine in 2026 by researchers affiliated with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine estimates that between 2.1 and 7 million people worldwide may be poisoned by snakes annually. The modeling of this study places India among countries with the highest burden, with estimates in the hundreds of thousands of cases and an upper limit of about 1.3 million snakebites per year.
Mortality in India is also significant. Earlier studies based on nationally representative mortality data estimated around 58,000 deaths from snakebites annually between 2000 and 2019. An analysis conducted in Nature Communications in 2022 estimated 51,100 deaths from snakebites in India in 2019 alone, noting significant uncertainty in the figures. These figures vary because snakebite cases remain underreported.
However, in India, a snakebite is simultaneously an issue of wildlife, a public health concern, and a question of how people build and inhabit landscapes. The publication The Better India examined public health data and interviewed Bijju Raj, Director of Conservation Projects and Senior Wildlife Biologist at Wildlife SOS, to understand the reasons for these encounters, why some become fatal, and why even the age-old belief about milk can put snakes at risk.
How Rain Changes the Map
Snakes are cold-blooded animals, meaning their body temperature is largely regulated by the environment. Thus, weather, temperature, and water affect where they can shelter and move. Bijju Raj explains: 'When it is sunny, snakes move to cooler places. That is how their body thermoregulation works.' He continues that rain, whether monsoon, sudden downpour, or unprecedented flooding, can completely disrupt the snake's habitat.
A burrow, crevice, or patch of vegetation that was safe yesterday might be flooded today. 'They are forced to move away from the water and look for dry land or some shelter,' he says. This shelter can be anywhere that provides protection. This is why the idea that a snake somehow decided to 'intrude' into a house can be mistaken.
Raj notes: 'It is not necessarily the snake's fault. The problem is that we sometimes invite them.' He adds that wherever there is garbage, unused materials, or items lying in one corner for years, rats are likely to appear. 'If you have rats in your car, for example, the smell of rat urine can become extremely strong. Snakes can detect this smell and head to that area because they associate it with a potential food source.'
This means the problem is not limited to villages or mud houses. 'Snakes are not necessarily forest animals living only in jungles like tigers or leopards. Wherever they find suitable shelter and a place where prey, such as rats, is available, they can survive.'
Can You Test if a Snake is Venomous?
Raj warns that the first mistake after spotting a snake is trying to figure out what species it is. Several species can look similar, and approaching the animal for a better view can turn an encounter into a confrontation. So, what is the ideal first reaction when seeing a snake?
'We always tell people not to approach the snake,' says Raj. 'Observe it from a safe distance and watch where it moves.' If this can be done without approaching the animal, a photograph can be helpful. 'Our rescuers often ask people to send us a photo. Even if it takes a rescuer an hour to reach the location, a photo can help us identify the snake and inform the person whether it is a rat snake or another harmless species.'
One should not try to catch it. Videos of trained rescuers can create another problem by making handling snakes seem easier than it actually is. Raj explains: 'The difference lies in the rescuer's experience and how they handle the situation. The snake can still be dangerous, even if it seems calm.'
Therefore, the safest reaction is distance, observation, and having a trained rescue service available, if one exists.
The Answer Has Changed Now
He recalls that when organized snake rescue was just developing in Delhi, people often called the police when a snake appeared. By the time a trained rescuer arrived, the animal might already have been killed. This approach has not disappeared entirely. However, awareness and access to trained rescuers have changed the course of many encounters.
Raj asserts: 'Wildlife rescue has advanced significantly from that situation. Now people are willing to wait two or three hours for a trained rescuer to arrive.' Awareness has also spread beyond social media. 'There are still many people who do not use social media and rely on newspapers. They see photos and reports of rescue operations, save numbers, and call when they encounter a snake.'
A snake that is not cornered and not subjected to unnecessary handling is less likely to be provoked into defensive behavior. But avoiding the snake is only part of the problem. The other part begins when a person is bitten.
The Real Emergency
Snakebite poisoning is treatable, but treatment depends on time. The WHO has identified access to effective treatment and stronger healthcare systems as central elements in reducing snakebite mortality. Its global strategy aims to halve snakebite-related mortality and disability by 2030.
India's National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming, launched in March 2024, similarly focuses on surveillance, healthcare capacity, emergency services, access to antivenom, training, and public awareness. However, the problem is that people at the highest risk may also be the furthest from timely treatment. For a person bitten in a remote Indian village, the hospital might be somewhere in the district. Therefore, the question is whether the person can quickly reach a facility with trained personnel and proper treatment.
Raj emphasizes: 'The most important thing is timely arrival at the hospital. You cannot waste time after a snakebite.' This is why a snakebite cannot be reduced to a story about snakes. It is also a story about roads, transport, medical facilities, awareness, and data.
Awareness is Important Due to Myths
There is a belief that snakes drink milk. But snakes are not milk-drinking animals. 'Snakes are reptiles, and they cannot digest milk,' says Raj. 'They are predators. They eat other animals; milk is not part of their natural diet.'
So why might a snake appear to drink milk? 'If you keep a snake without water for 10 or 20 days, and then place it in liquid, it may consume that liquid because it is severely dehydrated. It reacts to the availability of fluid, not specifically chooses milk; it might consume sweet drinks too.'
'The snake seeks fluid because it is dehydrated, but milk can harm it because it is not something the snake can digest.'
Don't Let This Go Unnoticed
The 2026 PLOS Medicine study notes that data on snakebites remains sparse and uneven across different countries, and that modeling is necessary because many cases are never recorded in formal systems. For India, therefore, the task is twofold. People need to know how to avoid dangerous encounters and seek prompt treatment. At the same time, snakes should not be viewed as invaders just because they crossed an invisible human boundary.
We need to understand why this happens, reduce the conditions that lead to unnecessary closeness between snakes and humans, leave wildlife handling to trained rescuers, reject myths that harm animals, and ensure that medical treatment is not delayed in the event of a possible venomous bite.
