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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has praised India’s remarkable progress in weather forecasting and disaster preparedness, crediting the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for elevating the country’s capabilities to match those of developed nations. Chairing a high-level review meeting on flood management, Shah stressed the need for close coordination between central agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with state governments. He also called on the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the NDMA, and the National Remote Sensing Centre to remain alert to potential risks from glacial lakes, whose sudden outbursts can trigger devastating floods. Reaffirming India’s commitment to a 'zero casualty approach' in disaster manag...

As Uttar Pradesh continues to reel under an intense heatwave, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has urged people to remain cautious and follow safety measures to protect themselves from the soaring temperatures. With hospitals across the state put on high alert, the government is taking no chances in preparing for potential heat-related emergencies. Pathak advised residents to limit outdoor activities during peak hours and to carry umbrellas or cover their heads when stepping outside. He emphasized the importance of simple precautions in avoiding heatstroke and related illnesses. The India Meteorological Department has predicted that some relief may arrive for northwestern India, including Uttar Pradesh, starting June 14, raising hopes that the relentless heat may soon ease. In...

Extreme heat is no longer just an uncomfortable season to endure it has quietly become one of the deadliest and least addressed climate hazards of our time. In a high-level event held at the 2025 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, leaders from governments, global agencies, labor unions, academia, and humanitarian organizations came together to sound the alarm: the world must radically rethink how it prepares for and manages the rising danger of extreme heat. “Extreme heat is the deadliest of all climate-related hazards,” warned Celeste Saulo, Director-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “Yet it remains the least recognized and least managed.” A Growing, Silent Threat The numbers are stark. Between 2000 and 2019, extreme heat contributed to nearly half a...

A powerful new AI tool designed by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Duke universities could transform how public health officials predict and manage infectious disease outbreaks like flu and COVID-19. This cutting-edge system, called PandemicLLM, has outperformed current top forecasting methods, offering fresh hope for handling future pandemics more effectively. The tool uses large language modeling the same generative AI technology behind ChatGPT — to "reason" through complex, changing data. It moves beyond traditional mathematical forecasting by considering factors like new virus variants, mask mandates, and recent spikes in infections. “COVID-19 taught us that old models broke down when things changed like when new variants arrived or public policies shifted,” said Lauren Gard...

Scientists have long used clear warning signs like earthquakes and ground swelling to predict volcanic eruptions. But some volcanoes erupt without giving such clues, putting nearby people and air traffic at risk. These are called "stealth" volcanoes and now, new research from Alaska’s Veniaminof volcano may help explain why they stay so quiet before exploding. A team led by Dr Yuyu Li from the University of Illinois studied Veniaminof one of Alaska’s most active volcanoes to find out why many of its eruptions give little or no warning. Their findings, published in Frontiers in Earth Science, reveal that conditions deep inside the volcano play a key role. “Even with advanced monitoring, some volcanoes erupt suddenly, catching us off guard,” said Dr Li. “Many such volcanoes are located...

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...