South Asia is home to 1.5 billion people, ⅕ of the world’s population. But, as wet-bulb temperatures, a mix of high temperatures and high humidity, increase, people may be forced to leave. Without making carbon emission cuts, the future will bring average increases of more than 4 degrees.
Muthu and her husband, Kumar, couldn’t afford to feed their son, Prabhu, much less themselves, so they sent him 200 miles away to work in the cotton mills.
“I always think about my family and want to go home.” says Prabhu.
At home, his parents struggle with crop failure due to the rising temperatures. They rely on the small pipe by their home that gives them enough water for an hour every other day. “With the little water available we just slightly wet our mouth and throat.” says Muthu.
Periyanayaki is facing similar troubles.
Her husband drunk pesticide after a rice crop failure, the result of the worst drought in a century. “I lost my husband’s life and the harvest.” says Periyanayaki.
The average suicides in India has risen by 67 per day and some believe that it is tied to crop failure and rising heat. But, the local government won’t help- they don’t believe that there is a connection between the suicides and drought- and so the families are left to fight for themselves.
With a recent crop failure, Muthu is drowning under loans that need repaying. Muthu says, “If I were to take out any more loans, the interest would grow, and my whole family would be forced to kill themselves.”
As temperatures in Southern Asia rise, people are facing severe droughts and heat waves. Like Periyanayaki, they’re losing their harvest and also their husbands. While we use water as if it were limitless, people in Southern Asia ration it carefully day by day. Water is a luxury they can’t afford to waste. The drought kills their crops and takes the lives of their family. They must decide whether to leave or stay. Staying is hard- they must face the lack of water and a many other challenges, but leaving is even harder. After all, how can you leave the place you’ve always called home?
Sources:
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/8/e1603322