Editorial Board
Thirsty India Needs to Use Less Water
The country's groundwater levels are declining dangerously.
Parched.
Photographer: NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty ImagesIndia is going thirsty. After two bad monsoons in a row, wells are running dry, and now temperatures are soaring above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s one of the worst droughts in almost half a century, hurting some 330 million Indians -- more than the population of the U.S. With luck, in a month or so, a predicted above-average rainfall will bring some relief. But to protect itself in the long run, India will need to focus less on the skies above than on the cracked, dry earth below.