India, Nov. 3 -- The Sun God failed to keep his date with devotees in Delhi last Tuesday. Thick smog played spoilsport on Chhath, when the Sun is worshipped. Thousands of women observing a 36-hour fast without even taking a sip of water were left disappointed. The Sun couldn't be sighted from the ghats of Yamuna at dawn, with its rays failing to penetrate the toxic haze that had pushed Delhi's air quality to the "very poor" zone. The deterioration of air quality that began around Diwali persisted. Chhath without clean air and bright sunshine is unthinkable. I wish to salute the humane flexibility in Indian traditions. It is determined to appease the believers. People faced the direction of setting and rising sun and offered water and tributes to the deity. To the uninitiated, Chhath is a unique expression of India's religious and spiritual traditions that has for centuries seamlessly blended social cohesion and natural beauty. The offerings during sun worship are all sourced from native crops. Social divide dissolves on this day in the religious fervour, and people from all sections pray in unison for the well-being of everyone. However, prayers aren't enough. We humans aren't only guilty of tearing apart our but also brutalising the natural bounty so generously offered to us. Chhath in Delhi is a mere example of the larger unfolding story. On Chhath evening, coastal Andhra Pradesh witnessed cyclone Montha's landfall. It killed three people, and property and crops worth millions were lost in a matter of a few hours. Montha's impact was witnessed as far away as Jharkhand, where eight districts suffered heavy rains. Many parts of the country witnessed untimely rains the same day. Meanwhile, the Delhi government had to rope in IIT Kanpur for cloud seeding to create artificial rains in Delhi. The project was partially successful. All this unfolds while we refuse to come to terms with the life-threatening changes in climate patterns. Data from the meteorological department show that in 2025 - quite like in 2024 - the total number of rainfall days expanded from the preceding year. Punjab was the worst-hit. It received rainfall in excess of 41% of the normal, which resulted in state-wide floods. Haryana received 34% extra rainfall while Rajasthan recorded 65% above average rainfall. The entire country received 108% of the normal rainfall, which adversely impacted kharif crops. It is estimated that 58% of the total kharif area has been affected, which is 16% more than the last year. The rains were preceded by oppressive summer heat. There were at least three days that were deemed the "warmest in human history". In the last two years, the number of "above normal" hot days and nights are increasing at an alarming rate. The latest issue of The Lancet suggests that during the summer, India witnessed 20 days of heatwave and strong loo (searing hot winds) and every minute at least one person died due to heat stroke across the globe. Meanwhile, in 2022, air pollution killed 1.72 million people in India - 38% higher than the number in 2010. Researchers have sounded the alarm that, by 2050, summers in India will become unbearably intense for humans to endure. Close to 600 million Indians will be directly impacted. Extreme heat also turns forests into tinder boxes with dry leaves quickly catching fire, leading to disastrous consequences. Every economic agency and institution conclude that by 2047 India will be among the top three economies of the world. The pace of our economic growth attests to the fact. But how can we survive the diametrically opposite forces of development and disaster? To illustrate, Maharashtra is considered one of the most prosperous states in India. But it's also the biggest victim of the climate crisis. It is followed by Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. Meteorologists have classified them into an "extremely vulnerable" category. Meanwhile, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, despite their intensive preparations, have crossed the red line as far as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are concerned. It's no surprise that India tops the chart when it comes to climate victims. This year, till now, more than 3,500 people have lost their lives to extreme weather events. Unfortunately, in the 25th year of the 21st century, we have registered a 269% increase in climate victims during the last two and a half decades. We still have two months to go before the year ends and scientists are predicting an extremely cold winter after oppressively warm summers and unusually wet monsoons. No part of the planet is now safe from the climate crisis. During the last 50 years, more than 2 million people have died due to floods, droughts, extreme rain, cyclones, landslides and forest fires. More than 90% of the deaths were reported in developing nations. Racists will say developing nations are reaping the results of their own deeds. But nature doesn't discriminate. According to the Climate Central Group, in the first six months of 2025, extreme weather events in the US alone wreaked havoc on 14 occasions, leading to the loss of property worth $101 billion. At the beginning of the year, the state of California witnessed devastating fires that killed 400 people and devoured 16,000 buildings. The tragedy is that these calamities fail to register on President Donald Trump's conscience who's bent on bending the world to his will. Why don't he and his Western allies act decisively on this issue? We know they are the original sinners who pushed the Earth into its present crisis....