In Tharparkar, people do not measure time by calendars—they measure it by rain. Every year, the monsoon determines whether families will eat, children will stay in school, livestock will survive and debts will be repaid. When the rains arrive, hope returns. When they fail, an entire region begins to slip into crisis. This year, as June ends without meaningful rainfall, the people of Thar are watching their hopes slowly disappear.

From late May, families begin saving whatever they can. Some sell livestock, while others put aside a few hundred rupees from daily wages. The money is meant for seeds, tractors and preparing fields as soon as the first rain falls. Farming in Thar is entirely dependent on the monsoon. Three or four good rains can sustain a family for an entire year, but without them every investment is lost.

Climate change has disrupted the traditional rainfall patterns that generations relied upon. Usually, Thar receives its first showers in early June, prompting farmers to sow their crops despite the uncertainty of future rains. In 2026, however,........

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