As fatal rains batter parts of the north Indian hill state of Uttarakhand, following a summer that also saw hundreds of deaths from heat waves, a new assessment out on June 19 from the World Bank warns of increasingly difficult effects of climate change on several parts of South Asia in the next 20-30 years. It argues that extreme weather events are likely to get more frequent, as temperatures rise. The...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The devastation in the Garhwal Himalayas was pretty much on predicted lines and man-made. An environmental assessment of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers three years ago by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had warned of severe hazards both for natural ecology and stabilization of hill slopes along the riverbed, erosion of which has resulted in hundreds of casualties in the flash floods. The report --...

-The Hindu Hassan (Karnataka): A sum of Rs. 10 lakh, meant for relief to drought-hit small and medium farmers in Arkalgud taluk, has allegedly been drawn by tampering with cheques and forging the signature of the tahsildar. The fraud came to light after tahsildar K.P. Eshwarappa filed a complaint with the police on Tuesday seeking a probe. The money was withdrawn from the Revenue Department's official savings account at the Arkalgud branch...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: An expected 2°C rise in the world's average temperatures in the next decades will make India's monsoon highly unpredictable and by 2040, the country will witness a sharp reduction in crop yields due to extreme heat, a report commissioned by the World Bank cautioned on Wednesday. It said shifting rain patterns will leave some areas under water and others without enough water for power generation, irrigation or,...

-The Hindu     It's been a year since the Indian Government announced the long-term visa facility for refugees, but many like Zaw Zaw's family, hailing from Myanmar, are yet to benefit. Three metal trunks and a few peeling leather bags are all it takes to hold together Zaw Zaw's 25 years. A hand-spun, bright, red and yellow peacock flag, discoloured sheets of papers and a few mementos from friends are all squeezed in...