Are we prepared for total monsoon failure? 27 May 2012, The Economic Times

By the end of this week, the South West monsoon would have hit Indian shores. During a period of economic crisis, it would be one of the few welcome developments, although few people would look at it that way. The arrival of the South West monsoon is an event that is taken for granted, as surely as the arrival of summer or winter every year. However, climatologists are now beginning to question this certitude. The South Indian monsoon has switched off completely in the past, sometimes for as much as ten seasons. Are we prepared for a scenario when the monsoon fails totally for ten years?