The City Formerly Known as Madras

Among movies that I have never actually seen, the 1955 The Rains of Ranchipur, sticks near the top of my memory. As I said, I didn't see it, but somehow the preview made a big impression on my preteen brain. It had Richard Burton, Lana Turner, and Fred McMurray and a bunch of other actors in brownface doing something or other in one heck of a rainstorm in India.

It seems that the city of Chennai has lately been experiencing that sort of thing for reals.

Chennai, a city of 4.4 million, received 34 times its normal rainfall on Wednesday alone—so disruptive that its daily newspaper was not published for the first time since 1878 because its staff could not reach the press. The rains are expected to continue throughout early December. India’s chief meteorologist has said the recent extreme weather events “fit the larger picture of climate change.”

And a furry fellow reports that the UK is pretty wet too. With some nice pictures and charts.

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