The Uninhabitable Village
Hotter temperatures are forcing families in southern India to decide: Try to survive here, or leave?
OCTOBER 26, 2017
This is S. Periyanayaki in the rice field in southern India where her husband died.
The worst drought in more than a century killed his rice crop, and he blamed himself.
A farmer found Periyanayaki’s husband, K. Suresh, lying in the barren field. He had drunk pesticide.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers have killed themselves in the past 30 years, and some climate researchers believe hotter weather has driven crop failure and made the problem worse.
Although the causes of suicide are complex, one study found a couple degrees of warming on hot days in India was associated with an average of 67 more suicides per day.
“I lost my husband’s life and the harvest.”
This district, Nagapattinam, in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state, has become nearly uninhabitable. Temperatures could rise another five degrees by the late 21st century.
Monsoon rains have flooded many parts of India this year, but this area has received far less rain than normal so far.
Everybody must decide: Try to survive here, or leave?
K. Muthu and her husband, N. Kumar, have stayed. But they never know when they will get water next. Food is scarce, and they’ve had to sell timber to make ends meet.
They survive off a trickle from a pipe near their home that gives water for one hour every other day.
“We can’t get enough water to quench our thirst. With the little water available we just slightly wet our mouth and throat.”
Muthu prepares government-issued rice daily, but it’s not enough to feed her family.
Even something as simple as cooking this rice is complicated, as it must be rinsed and boiled in water.
“I go without food more days than I eat.”
Muthu and her husband sent away their son, Prabhu, because they couldn’t feed him. He works in a cotton mill 200 miles away.
The work is backbreaking, but at least he can eat.
“It’s very difficult here. I always think about my family and want to go home.”
“But I can’t go back. I need to earn.”
Prabhu’s parents are struggling to repay their existing loans without a crop. Their minimal income isn’t enough.
“If I were to take out any more loans, the interest would grow, and my whole family would be forced to kill themselves.”
Desperate to call attention to their plight, farmers carried skulls of dead farmers to a protest in Delhi.
Helping people adapt to droughts may require governments to aid farmers, build major infrastructure projects and even possibly relocate large numbers of people, activists say.
But local governments say there is no link between suicides and drought.
Periyanayaki is left trying to provide for her daughters, her mother-in-law and herself.
“To us, the field is God. I’m not angry with the land. I’m only angry at my husband.”
“Only when I have settled my children’s future can I consider leaving. But then where do I go?”
Additional production by Meg Felling. Color by Ben Laffin. Map by Jeremy White. Translations by Prashanth Murali and Mahalakshmi Suresh
Note: Map highlights regions where at least 30 suicides in 2013 were attributed to climate change.
Correction: An earlier version of this article included an incomplete translation of comments by S. Kumar. The incorrect quotation has been removed.