The drought-prone city of Bangalore is inhabited by ever-growing numbers of people, spurred by an expanding service economy. The city’s economic and physical growth has made it vital to the region’s economic development – nearly 34 per cent of the economic output of Karnataka state comes from this one city. At the same time, Bangalore’s growth has also put tremendous pressure on its natural environment, contributing to the degradation of the local ecosystem and affecting the city’s spatial structure and character. Its growth is accompanied by an increasing demand for water, yet it remains totally dependent on supplies piped in from the river Cauvery, over 100 km away. At the same time, the number and intensity of floods is increasing because of poorly managed development, including the blockage of natural drainage channels. These problems, intensified by a changing climate, challenge the city and its people now and pose serious questions about its sustainability in the future and that of the region that depends on its economy. Bangalore’s fragmented governance, with its multiplicity of institutions and jurisdictions, complicates its sound development and impedes a holistic approach towards mitigation of and adaptation to the growing impacts of climate variability being experienced by the city. The limited understanding of climate change and its implications further constrains attention to what must become the city’s priorities.