Climate change

This morning at the DRAE Assembly we are focused on Global Climate change. This is no mere theoretical discussion. Very mindful that in Chennai, India’s sixth largest city, millions of people are running out of water. The reservoirs that have traditionally supplied Chennai are nearly all dry, leaving the city suffering from an acute water shortage. Water is being brought in to Chennai neighborhoods in trucks. Every day, hundreds of thousands of residents have no choice but to stand in line for hours in soaring summer temperatures, filling dozens of cans and plastic containers.
With supplies strictly rationed, many wealthier families have taken to relying on expensive private water tankers. Although the municipal body has worked to prioritize low income households, residents who book government water tankers could still wait up to a month.
Droughts in India are an annual problem but this year’s water shortage has coincided with a fatal nationwide heatwave. Only a quarter of Indian households have drinking water at home, and about 200,000 people die each year from inadequate supply or water contamination.
We pray for our diaconal sisters in India - for their families, and the communities in which they serve.