It is a frightening thought that the century of two world wars and innumerable other conflicts such as the one in Vietnam is likely to be followed by a century of climatic devastation caused by mankind’s greed and short-sightedness. It was the desire for wealth which made the corporate sector in the West ignore the dire warnings about climate change and continue to let their factories belch out smoke to blacken the sky. The avarice of the industrialists was matched by the foolishness of the rich whose extravagant lifestyle led to an increase in the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 31 per cent in the last 150 years of the industrial age, trapping heat and changing the weather for the worse.

India is among the nations which will have to bear the brunt of the melting Himalayan glaciers, which provide the life-giving waters of the country’s many rivers. Along with the rising sea levels inundating large parts of the coastline with salt water, the shortage of drinking water is bound to become a major problem in the coming decades. There is not only a need, therefore, for industrial innovations to reduce the production of greenhouse gases, but also the use of technology to ensure the world does not run out of sweet water. Otherwise, future generations will curse the present one for its recklessness.