Episode description

India has experienced some of the worse monsoon weather in years, but despite the extreme rainfall climate models suggest a drought may be on the way, with higher than average temperatures predicted for the months following the monsoon season.

We also hear warnings over the state of the world’s aquifers, with water levels in many places already low enough to affect ecosystems.

We examine the consequences of two historic eruptions. How Indonesian volcano Tambora changed global weather and why papyrus scrolls blackened by Italy’s Vesuvius can now be read again.

And from Australia the discovery of a new species of pterosaur in Queensland.

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

(Photo: Commuters make their way on a waterlogged road following heavy rainfalls in Patna.Credit:Getty Images)