Brazil’s water crisis has reached historic proportions, but arguably the worst could have been averted if only authorities had heeded the early warning signs; the parallels with our collective approach to climate change are striking.

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A rusted old car that emerged from the bottom of a major reservoir as the waters around it receded, with the slogan “Welcome to the Cantareira desert” graffitied on it. The Cantareira reservoir system, which serves the São Paulo region, has nearly run dry. Photo courtesy of EPA via The Guardian.

Brazil’s worst drought since records began in 1930, provoked by months of below-average rainfall, is on the verge of turning into a major national disaster. Millions of people, particularly around South America’s largest city and the centre of the…