India, July 14 -- Two mature trees crashed to the ground in Delhi's East of Kailash this week; one outside the National Heart Institute and another near the ISKCON temple. Fortunately, no lives were lost unlike the last year that took the life of a biker. The roads were cleared, traffic resumed and the city moved on.

But perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, "Why did the rain bring down these trees?" we should be asking, "What did we do to these trees long before the rain arrived?"

Across the country, urban trees are increasingly being portrayed as hazards during the monsoon. They are blamed for crushing cars, blocking roads and, tragically, taking lives. Yet healthy, structurally sound trees do not simply collaps...