Ushnanshu Dutta

Every summer, a giant atmospheric engine unfolds over India: moist ocean winds bring the rains that sustain crops and the lives of two billion people. But this engine sputters, and forecasting it a season ahead remains elusive. Models give only rough answers, and a monsoon forecast error can cost millions of tons of food.

Every year, lightning kills thousands of people, especially in the tropics, where thunderstorms are most intense. In India, the share of lightning deaths among all victims of natural disasters is rising, despite an overall decline in fatalities from cyclones and floods. One might think that lightning is too fast and too local to predict months ahead.