Wettest place on Earth

The state of Meghalaya in Northeast India is home to two of the wettest places on Earth, including the village of Mawsynram. Mawsynram, officially the wettest place on the planet, receives almost 12 metres of rainfall each year.

However, such torrential rainfall doesn’t mean that the people of the village have an abundance of water. Climate change is bringing erratic weather including floods and drought, sometimes in the same area.

Iaraphunlin Diengdoh is a local state government official: "Whatever rainfall that we receive throughout the year, but then it just flows off. We cannot tap them. We cannot even harness those waters. We don't have that proper system of harnessing the rain."

To try and overcome the problems, villagers collect and store water and authorities are trying to involve people in building and maintaining reservoirs. They hope this will encourage a more responsible use of water.

Climate change in Mawsynram is also affected by deforestation, there is less rain during the monsoon and the sun is hotter.

It’s a similar situation across India, according to a report by the World Resources Institute. It warns India is facing extremely high water stress, putting the health of hundreds of millions of people, as well as national development, at risk. View Less