-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) A prolonged and deadly heatwave has hit large swaths of India and Pakistan affecting hundreds of millions of people and sparking food and energy shortages. Experts say the extreme heat is a grim preview of what the climate crisis has in store for a region home to over 1 billion people. Temperatures in India’s capital and parts of Pakistan have at times reached close to 50°C, killing...

-The Tribune Target 12 lakh hectares | Land under DSR 72,000 hectares Chandigarh: The state government has extended the deadline for farmers to opt for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) to June 30 after its ambitious plan to bring 12 lakh hectares under the water-saving technique has come a cropper. Official sources say that of the targeted 12 lakh hectares, only 72,000 hectares have been brought under the DSR. With paddy transplantation set...

-The Telegraph India Meteorological Department has predicted 33 per cent probability of normal rainfall and 16 per cent probability of above normal rainfall Monsoon rains this year are likely to be well distributed with most parts of India expected to receive normal or above normal rainfall, the national weather agency said on Tuesday, predicting rainfall quantum to be 103 per cent of the long-period average. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that the...

-The Hindu Business Line Pesticide residues in India’s agri exports calls for a multi-pronged policy response As reported recently by this newspaper, India’s cumin exports have suffered a setback in recent months, with China claiming that pesticide residues exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) spelt out by it about six months back. Chinese authorities have said that consignments must be accompanied by a pesticide residue report. India has been through all this...

-The Telegraph The economic impact of heatwaves is steep India is feeling the heat in ways other than the rising prices. The ongoing heatwave, in which temperatures have shot above 45 degree Celsius in many parts of northwest and central India, highlights the rising climate risks and their attendant costs. Heatwaves, beginning earlier than in the past, are part of a changing climate whose defining features, in addition to the gradual rise...