A few weeks ago, New Delhi was a very thirsty city. The monsoon
was late, and the city’s water supply was low. Government tanker
trucks delivering water to parched neighborhoods were bombarded
by residents. The city’s air-conditioned malls, middle-class
meccas from the desert heat, shut down public restrooms because
there wasn’t enough water to flush. White-clad protesters took
to the streets, waving empty water jugs in outrage over what has
become an all-too-familiar problem in the capital every year
before the monsoon. By the middle of the month, the summer rains
finally landed, pouring down on the city and giving some respite
from what had been the hottest summer in India’s capital in 33
years. The urgency passed, but the fundamental vulnerability of
people across India to an increasingly unpredictable weather
event remains a serious cause for concern. The monsoon accounts
for more than 80% of India’s annual rainfall, feeding crops and
filling the nation’s reservoirs. Weak rains can mean less to eat
for mi