Few places illustrate the challenges of adapting to climate change as clearly as the world’s most populous country. India was hot even before people started to cook the planet, not to mention vulnerable to floods and droughts. Now all these ills are getting worse. Minimum temperatures last summer were the highest since 1901, giving heat-sapped Indians little respite even at night. During the monsoon in 2024, floods destroyed villages and brought towns to a standstill. In the dry season several big cities nearly ran out of water, including Bangalore, the thriving technology capital.