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A stark new report by the United Nations has revealed that heat-related deaths among people aged 65 and above have surged by 85% since the 1990s an alarming indicator of the escalating climate crisis. Titled The Weight of Time, the UNEP’s Frontier report, released on July 10, 2025, draws urgent attention to the vulnerability of older adults amid rising global temperatures, especially in urban centres and low- to middle-income countries. The findings point to a grim future. If global temperatures rise by 2°C, heat-related deaths among the elderly could increase by a staggering 370% by 2050. Already, in India, people over 65 are facing 2.1 to 4 additional heatwave days per year compared to earlier decades, underlining the growing risks in tropical and densely populated regions. Accordi...

In a troubling revelation Byrnihat a small industrial town on the Assam-Meghalaya border, has been declared the world’s most polluted city in 2024 by Swiss air monitoring agency IQAir. Once a sleepy outpost, Byrnihat has rapidly transformed into a major industrial and logistics hub but this economic surge has come at a severe environmental and health cost. According to IQAir, Byrnihat recorded an average PM2.5 level of 128.2 micrograms per cubic meter last year over 25 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit. The town surpassed even Delhi, long known for its dangerous air quality, and now wears the unfortunate crown of global pollution capital. A Town Choking on Progress Over the past three decades, Byrnihat proximity to the coal-rich hills of Meghalaya and the urban center...

The Indian Army has intensified its relief and rescue operations in Himachal Pradesh’s flood-devastated Mandi district, where continuous monsoon rains have led to massive infrastructure breakdowns and a rising death toll. In partnership with the SDRF, NDRF, and local authorities, Army columns are delivering essential aid and restoring connectivity to isolated regions. Personnel have been deployed across severely affected areas such as Thunag, Bagsiad, and Pandoh. At Thunag, Army teams provided medical aid and distributed ration kits to displaced families. Remote villages like Degi, Rushad, and Chapad, which were cut off due to floodwaters, have also started receiving supplies after days of isolation. A crucial mule track between Bagsiad and Thunag was cleared, enabling the movement o...

New Zealand is facing another bout of severe weather as a cold front unleashes torrential rain and damaging winds across the country. The northern regions of both the North and South Islands are at heightened risk of flooding and landslides, prompting urgent warnings from the national weather bureau. In response to worsening conditions, the Nelson Tasman region has declared a state of emergency for the second time in just two months. With rivers already swollen from previous rainfall, authorities fear the saturated ground could lead to sudden overflows and dangerous mudslides. Wind gusts of up to 120 kph have been forecast in exposed areas, accompanied by the threat of severe thunderstorms. As the storm system intensifies, emergency services are on high alert, and local officials are...

Continuous heavy rainfall has led to a dramatic rise in the River Ganga’s water levels, submerging Varanasi’s iconic ghats and riverside temples. The situation has disrupted daily life, with blocked roads and rising floodwaters becoming an annual ordeal for residents. Local voices like Sonu Sahani highlight a familiar pattern each day brings the water a step higher, leaving little time to adapt. “This happens every monsoon. Roads get blocked, and everything stalls,” he told sources. Neighbouring districts such as Prayagraj are facing similar conditions, with ghats also going underwater. The Indian Meteorological Department has warned that heavy rain will likely continue in West Uttar Pradesh and other parts of North India, heightening concerns of prolonged flooding.   &nbs...

A catastrophic flash flood in Texas Hill Country has claimed over 100 lives and left dozens missing many of them children at summer camps making it one of the deadliest in US history. Triggered by a rare overnight storm that dumped up to 18 inches of rain, the Guadalupe River surged by 26 feet in just 45 minutes, sweeping away homes, bridges, and lives. Despite early alerts from the National Weather Service, many residents received no effective warnings. Camps had no sirens, and phone alerts went unnoticed during the night. The event has drawn sharp attention to global shortcomings in early warning systems and disaster preparedness. Flash floods are the deadliest form of flooding globally, accounting for 85% of flood-related deaths and killing over 5,000 people annually. Their speed ...

A deadly flood that tore through Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River this week has left at least nine dead and more than two dozen missing, with the disaster traced to the sudden drainage of a supraglacial lake in Tibet, China. The event is the latest in a growing pattern of climate-driven hazards impacting the fragile Hindu Kush Himalaya region. Among the missing are 19 people in Nepal, including six Chinese workers stationed at the Beijing-supported Inland Container Depot. The flood also destroyed the vital 'Friendship Bridge' linking Nepal and China. Across the border in Tibet, 11 people are reported missing, according to Chinese state media. Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warn that these events are becoming alarmingly frequent, driven by ...

In a troubling revelation Byrnihat a small industrial town on the Assam-Meghalaya border, has been declared the world’s most polluted city in 2024 by Swiss air monitoring agency IQAir. Once a sleepy outpost, Byrnihat has rapidly transformed into a major industrial and logistics hub but this economic surge has come at a severe environmental and health cost. According to IQAir, Byrnihat recorded an average PM2.5 level of 128.2 micrograms per cubic meter last year over 25 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit. The town surpassed even Delhi, long known for its dangerous air quality, and now wears the unfortunate crown of global pollution capital. A Town Choking on Progress Over the past three decades, Byrnihat proximity to the coal-rich hills of Meghalaya and the urban center...

Global climate finance reached a record high of $1.9 trillion in 2023, marking a 15% increase from the previous year, according to the latest Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2025 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). While this surge signals growing urgency around climate action, the report warns that major gaps and systemic risks continue to threaten progress. Between 2018 and 2023, climate finance grew at an annual rate of 19%, with a sharper increase of 26% seen from 2021 to 2023. However, even at this pace, global investment is still far below the $6.3 trillion needed annually from 2024 to 2030 to limit the most severe impacts of climate change. The majority of climate finance in 2023 about 94% or $1.78 trillion was directed towards mitigation efforts. Energy systems...

A worrying surge in glacial-origin floods is being observed across the Hindu Kush Himalayas, according to new findings from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Scientists say that events known as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) sudden releases of water from lakes formed by melting glaciers are becoming alarmingly frequent in the region. Once rare, such events are now escalating fast. In the early 2000s, GLOFs in the region were expected once every five to ten years. Yet in just the last two months May and June 2025 ICIMOD has documented three: in Nepal’s Limi Valley, Afghanistan’s Andorab Valley, and Pakistan’s Chitral and Hunza regions. “The acceleration of these types of events is completely unprecedented in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. W...