Change or Die

Puzhal Reservoir  Chennai              Weather Channel

The global climate crisis is an inconvenience in the United States.  Yes, tornados and storms are worse, Miami Beach is frequently flooded and in the drought stricken Western states, fire season is now a year round event.  Fortunately, we have an infrastructure in place and the financial resources to mitigate the worst effects of climate change for a while longer.  But, the previews of things to come are available if we want to look.

In India, millions are without water as a multi-year drought driven by climate change is showing no signs of abating.

Chennai, the sixth-largest city in India is running out of water for its nearly 4.6 million residents as four of the city’s reservoirs are nearly dry due to a heat wave and drought. Many people are reported to have been waiting hours in line for water being provided through government tankers.  

The water crisis is being felt throughout India—at least 550 people were reportedly arrested Wednesday during protests in Coimbatore, about 300 miles southwest of Chennai, alleging negligence by the municipal government. Some political parties are calling on more protests.

The current crisis is just a preview of the projected combined impact of climate change driven reduced rainfall, population growth, industrialization and government inaction.  

India is suffering from the worst water crisis in its history and millions of lives and livelihoods are under threat. Currently, 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water. The crisis is only going to get worse. By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual ~6% loss in the country’s GDP.

India's population is projected to grow to 1.5 billion by 2030 (from the current 1.4 billion).  In 11 years the world's most populous nation is not going to have water for half of its people.  So, a nation with what is currently a struggling and often ineffective government is going to have to figure out how to deal with what could arguably be the largest crisis in humanity.  Hard to be optimistic.