Global warming in some regions of the world is being devastating. The reduction in rainfall is affecting agriculture and livestock, which are basic activities for the human population to have food. This in India they know well, too.
Farmers have started committing suicide. Why? Because "there is no rain," said Rani's widow, who died after ingesting a pesticide. And the worst is yet to come: according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), in the coming years the country will suffer more similar tragedies as temperatures rise and droughts intensify.
All, animals and plants, we need water to live. It is the staple of life, and when it is scarce, that is when conflicts arise. Nonhuman animals solve it in a similar way to ours: if they are big and strong, as elephants are, for example, they take over a small puddle and don't let anyone get close; and if they are small, they manage to be able to drink even a little bit.
People, when we lack water, can choose to negotiate, or go to war with those who prevent us from accessing it. In fact, there are those who says that the Third World War will not be for oil, nor for the territory, but for water. But sometimes humans can be even more cruel.
In India, farming is a high risk profession. It supports more than half the population (1.300 billion), which is why farmers have been considered the heart and soul of the country. Despite this, its economic influence has declined in the last 30 years. Thus, it has gone from representing a third of India's gross domestic product, to now representing only 15%, which totals 2.260 billion dollars.
There are many reasons why farmers choose to commit suicide: poor harvest yield, financial devastation and debt, little community support ... Some drink pesticides as a way out of huge debts, since the government in some cases guarantees money for surviving family members, which is a perverse incentive for suicide.
For the year 2050, the average temperature will rise about 3ºC, making the situation even worse.
You can read the study here.