India was among the earliest human civilizations. India may now be one of the earliest civilizations to collapse from its own wastes and mismanagement.
India is fast running out of potable water in many places. The air in India’s capital – New Delhi – is presently so thick with pollution that planes can’t fly in it. Most of the world’s most-polluted cities are in India. Literal mountains of garbage surround Indian cities. India’s crop yields are far lower than other countries, in large part to soil exhausted from synthetic fertilizers and poor soil management.
India’s government has long demonstrated incompetence. Nothing efficacious is being attempted to address the country’s many environmental problems. The decline accelerates.
References:
Kai Schultz & Suhasini Raj, “New Delhi, choking on toxic air, declares health emergency,” The New York Times (1 November 2019).
Hannah Ellis-Petersen, “Flights diverted in Delhi as toxic smog hits worst levels of 2019,” The Guardian (3 November 2019).
“Mountains of garbage: India’s neglected waste management crisis,” The Hindu (7 September 2017).
“India’s crop yields lower than US, Europe and China: government,” NDTV Food (23 November 2016).