That has serious consequences for the

inhabitants of this region. There are easily a

billion of them. Many of these people depend

on the monsoon. Farmers need the rain to

grow rice and other crops. If the harvest fails,

they don’t make any money and there’s a risk

of famine. But if too much rain falls, the rivers

f lood. You’ve probably seen the pictures: the

tops of palm trees poking out of the water,

houses collapsing into rivers with a crash, fully

loaded scooters driving through the brown

water. It’s all the fault of the monsoon. But the

local people can’t live without it. You should

see what happens when the monsoon is late.

In New Delhi, the temperature goes up to 45

degrees. At night, it’s at most a few degrees

cooler. The 20 million inhabitants long for cool

air. Their fans and air-conditioning are no good

to them because the electricity keeps failing.

In dozens of cities, people are threatening

employees of the electricity companies.

They’re furious that there’s no electricity when

they really need it. But that’s no coincidence.

If everyone turns the air-conditioning all the

way up, the power stations have to work at full

power. Water is needed for

that too. Cooling water for the coal-f ired

power stations. And lots of water for the

hydroelectric power stations. But if the

monsoon doesn’t show up, the reservoirs will

be empty.

Then, almost two weeks later than usual, the

rain f inally arrives. The children dance in the

streets. The dust disappears from the air. The

temperature drops from hot to warm. A sigh of

relief passes through the city. But along with

the water come the mosquitos. And mosquitos

bring nasty diseases.

Marc ter Horst

Published in Palm Trees at the North Pole, published

by Greystone Books, Canada. Originally published

in Dutch in 2018 as Palmen op de Noordpool by J.H.

Gottmer/H.J.W. Becht bv, text © Marc ter Horst,

illustrations © Wendy Panders, English translation

rights© Laura Watkinson.