Month: June 2025

New Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind move, the Indian government is set to introduce new rules to standardise air conditioner temperature settings across the country. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar, on Tuesday announced that ACs will soon not be allowed to cool below 20°C or heat beyond 28°C. This announcement comes as Delhi and several other parts of India battle an intense heatwave, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert for the national capital. “Soon, a new provision will be enforced where all ACs must operate within a set temperature range of 20°C to 28°C. This is a unique experiment aimed at standardising air conditioning use across India,” said Khattar, who is also the former Chief Minister of Haryana. Explaini...

As wildfires rage across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia this season, thousands of residents are fleeing their homes while entire communities brace for destruction. These fast-moving fires highlight a dangerous reality: Canada is building and rebuilding homes in the very zones most likely to burn. With cities expanding deeper into forested regions, the critical buffer between human development and wildland vegetation is shrinking. This narrowing zone not only increases the chances of fires igniting homes but also reduces the natural barriers that once protected communities from flames. As a result, wildfires that were once distant, rural threats are now regular hazards in suburban neighborhoods. This troubling pattern is amplified by climate change, which fuels longer dr...

In the crowded lanes of Mathare, one of Nairobi’s oldest and densest informal settlements, the rising sun no longer brings promise it brings peril. Vendors who once sold fish and fresh produce from their wooden stalls are now fighting against the day’s heat to prevent their goods from spoiling before they find buyers. On the streets of Mathare, where temperatures can soar five degrees Celsius higher than the rest of Nairobi, the heat forces many sellers to pack up early or suffer headaches, exhaustion, and lost earnings. What’s happening in Mathare is no local anomaly. This scene is now replicated in hundreds of cities across the globe as climate change drives temperatures higher and extreme heat becomes a daily reality rather than a rare disruption. Cities from Los Angeles to Dhaka to ...

The year 2024 has gone down as the hottest ever recorded in the South-West Pacific, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The region faced record-breaking temperatures, destructive cyclones, extreme rainfall, severe droughts, and the largest marine heatwave ever seen. The "State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2024" report, released on June 5, 2025, paints a worrying picture of rising climate risks for countries including Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Fiji, and New Zealand. The region’s land and ocean temperatures broke all previous records, even surpassing the heat of 2023. Much of this warming was linked to the strong 2023/2024 El Niño event, which pushed temperatures higher and left lingering effects long after it ended. A y...

By 2030, major Indian cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Surat, Thane, Hyderabad, Patna, and Bhubaneswar are expected to experience twice the number of heatwave days compared to current levels, according to a study released on June 10, 2025. The report was prepared by development consulting firm IPE Global and GIS technology provider Esri India and launched at the International Global-South Climate Risk Symposium in New Delhi. Titled Weathering the Storm: Managing Monsoons in a Warming Climate, the report presents detailed district-level assessments that reveal a dangerous rise in both extreme heat and unpredictable rainfall across India. The findings highlight the urgent need for localised strategies to build climate resilience in both cities and rural areas. The report warns th...

Six of the world’s leading public development banks have launched a renewed and expanded effort to tackle marine plastic pollution through the Clean Oceans Initiative 2.0. The announcement was made at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) held in Nice, France, where leaders from around the world gathered to push forward ocean sustainability goals under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14. The banks behind this global effort include Agence Française de Développement (AFD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Cassa Depositi e Pres titi (CDP), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)—the latest to join the group, strengthening the initiative’s reach in Asia. €3 Billion Commitment for 2026–20...

An alarming gap in India’s reporting systems has obscured the actual toll of deadly heatwaves sweeping the country. A recent investigation has uncovered major inconsistencies in official records, revealing that thousands of heat-related deaths may be going uncounted due to fragmented and outdated data mechanisms. Three key agencies—the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and the India Meteorological Department (IMD)—have reported starkly different figures for heatwave casualties. This disjointed approach leaves a critical gap in understanding the real human cost of extreme heat events, making policy action and preventive measures dangerously inadequate. As India faces more frequent and severe heatwaves driven by climate change, the fa...

A bold new initiative, One Ocean Finance, has been launched by a coalition of UN agencies and international partners, aiming to revolutionize global finance for ocean conservation and sustainable development. Announced at the Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco, the initiative opens a co-design phase that will shape an inclusive financial platform dedicated to the health of the world's oceans. The initiative seeks to close the persistent "ocean finance gap," which has seen Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) receive the least funding of all the global goals. Between 2015 and 2019, only $10 billion was directed toward ocean sustainability far short of the $175 billion required annually. One Ocean Finance aims to mobilize both public and private capital, not only to sa...

A massive forest fire broke out in the Kaldi region of Jammu and Khashmir’s Udhampur district late Monday afternoon, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky and prompting a swift response from forest and fire officials. The blaze, reported between 4:00 and 4:30 PM, quickly spread across the dry forest terrain. Local authorities, along with forest department teams, were immediately deployed to the site. While officials confirmed that a major portion of the fire has been brought under control, firefighting efforts remain active as crews continue to douse remaining hotspots and prevent further spread. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and officials are maintaining a close watch on the affected area. Updates are expected as the situation develops and assessments o...

The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference began this week in Nice, France, underlining urgent concerns about the planet's oceans facing record-high temperatures, rising sea levels, and growing risks to coastal communities. Running from June 9 to 13, the conference is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, bringing together world leaders, scientists, UN agencies, and activists to accelerate global action for ocean protection and resilience. Opening remarks from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles highlighted the urgent need for science-led, bold interventions to halt the decline of ocean health. “We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope,” Guterres said, acknowledging the plane...