The world may be getting warmer, but it is not getting much wetter.

It quaffed 249 billion litres of alcoholic drinks in 2014, a modest

increase of 1 billion over the preceding year.
When measured by intake per head of the drinking-age population, consumption is down a little from a peak of 56.6 litres in 2012 to
55.4 litres in 2014. People in rich countries are the ones imbibing lessa moderation that has not (yet) been matched by a
corresponding binge in emerging markets. India, for instance, is the ninth-largest alcohol market, yet consumption per head is low.
Small wonder that drinks companies see an enormous market waiting to be tapped.