All 50 hottest cities in the world were in India in April: Report

Everyone of the world’s 50 hottest cities was located inside India at the end of April – “a global weather-tracking anomaly,” was the finding by the company AQI, reported Inside Climate News. 

Another report by Harvard university found just 8% of households have access to air conditioning. Others rely on passive cooling (shade, reflective roofs). Around three-fourths of the country’s workforce is engaged in agriculture and construction. Informal and gig workers constitute as much as 90% of the labour force, leaving many without contracts and protections, according to the paper from the Salata Institute’s Climate Adaptation in South Asia research cluster. 

Violent Storm Leaves at Least 100 Dead in UP

A storm bringing rain and hail battered Uttar Pradesh, killing more than 100 people, Reuters reported, citing rescue officials.

The news wire said that storms are common in the northern state during the hot season from March to ⁠June before monsoon rains bring respite, but Wednesday's storm injured 59 people, damaged 87 homes, and killed 114 livestock, authorities said.

At least 104 people died in about a dozen districts, the worst hit being the area around Prayagraj, the office of the state's relief commissioner, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, told Reuters.

"The entire area where we live in turned black for around half an hour," said Ashok Rai, who lives in the coal-rich industrial town of Obra in the state's Sonbhadra ‌district.

Relief from heat: IMD predicts cooler May, excess rainfall in many parts

Most of India will witness milder than usual weather in May with day temperatures likely to be normal to below normal over most parts of the country, HT reported citing the India Meteorological Department. The newspaper said IMD officials said they have been observing an increase in WDs since March, with moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea strengthening them. “We are expecting more WDs and more thunderstorm activity in May. This is not necessarily linked to the evolving El Niño”, the outlet quoted the IMD chief as saying. 

Half the Ganges will Experience Year-Round Heatwaves by End of Century: Study

Modeling studies revealed that by the end of the century, more than 50% of the Ganges will experience year-round heatwaves, causing one of the biggest population exposures worldwide, Mongabay India reported. 

The researchers said when river temperatures are higher than 90% of its past recorded observations for that location and time of the year, it constitutes a heatwave.

Not only will this cause widespread damage to the ecosystem itself, the population exposure to heatwaves in the Ganges (impacts on drinking water, agriculture, and fisheries) will also be the highest in the world, the outlet said, adding that the heat stress to the riverine floral and faunal species can affect reproduction rates, reduce migration, and alter food webs. As different organisms respond to thermal stress differently, existing research shows that these implications vary vastly.

The study also pointed out the contribution of dams in exacerbating such heatwaves. Research on the impacts of small hydropower projects (SHPs) on some of the river systems in Karnataka’s Western Ghats indicates that such projects could contribute to riverine heatwaves, the outlet said citing the study. 

Indoor Temperature in Chennai Remains Above 34°C for Hours After Sunset: Report

A new study by Climate Trends, tracking indoor temperatures inside 50 low-and middle-income homes in Chennai, found that temperatures rarely dropped below 3°C and often remained above 34°C for hours after sunset, even in winter.

The research, conducted between October 2025 and April 2026, was drawn from seven months of high-resolution sensor data. It revealed a growing but ignored climate threat: chronic indoor heat exposure driven by climate change, urbanisation and heat-retaining construction materials, DTE reported, citing the study.

Most alarming was the persistence of night-time heat. Temperatures peaked around 8 and 9 PM, reaching nearly 34.7°C, a delayed surge caused by concrete walls and floors releasing the heat they had been storing since morning. Even in the early morning hours, homes saw little relief, with temperatures hovering around 33.8°C to 34°C.

Scientists Warn El Niño Could Intensify Climate Extremes in 2026

In 2026 El Niño (natural phenomenon of unusual warming of sea surface temperature in Pacific Ocean) may amplify climate extremes such as wildfire risk, heatwaves and flooding, scientists warned, Climate Home reported. 

There is 82% chance of a “very strong” El Niño forming in 2026, according to the average of four weather forecasters, including the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Times reported, adding that EL Nino could push summer temperatures in the UK above 40°C in 2027 and trigger global droughts that would push up food prices. Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh told the Independent that the phenomenon is expected to be “supercharged” by the emergence of another weather pattern – a positive Indian Ocean Dipole – raising fire and drought risks, alongside broader global extreme weather impacts.

Study Says Trees Counter Half the World’s Urban Heating

Trees are fighting nearly half (50%) the urban heating from pavement and buildings in the world’s cities, but they’re not doing enough cooling in hotter, poorer cities where it’s needed the most, AP reported, citing a new study. 

The study said trees in all the world’s cities cools an average of 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit (0.15 degrees Celsius). Without those trees, the world's cities would warm on average by 0.56 degrees Fahrenheit (0.31 degrees Celsius) which is 50% more, due to the urban heat island effect, where dark roofs and pavement absorb heat. 

Researchers built their analysis of nearly 9,000 large cities by measuring temperatures for segments of about 150 city blocks each. They found that poorer and hotter large urban centres that need it the most aren’t getting as much relief from higher heat, which can kill by confusing the brain, shutting down organs and overworking the heart. In four cities — Dakar, Senegal; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City and Amman, Jordan — there’s such minimal tree cover that the more than 15 million people who live there get essentially no cooling from trees. 

Cities where tree cover cools at least 0.45 degrees Fahrenheit (0.25 degrees Celsius), nearly 40% of cities in wealthy nations get that much cooling, but just under 9% in the poorest countries have that amount of tree relief, the study said. The list of places that cool the most is topped by Berlin and includes Atlanta, Moscow, Washington, Seattle and Sydney. Wealthy areas with individual ownership and residents with more political clout, contribute to more trees growing, the study found. 

Microplastics in the Air are Making Earth Hotter, Study Finds

Microplastics in the atmosphere are heating the planet and “magnifying climate change impacts”, Bloomberg reported citing new research. The newspaper said the research, published by Nature Climate Change, revealed that scientists in China and the US have found that “tiny, coloured plastic particles absorb sunlight as winds blow them around the world, trapping heat and contributing to temperature rise”. The outlet quoted Hongbo Fu, an author of the study, saying that “climate models need to be updated” to account for the role of plastic in global warming.

Extreme Weather is Emerging as a “Major Trigger for Strokes”

Researchers have found that weather extremes are linked to higher stroke risk and death, with heat, cold, smoke, dust, and pressure shifts acting together, a new study said. The study reframes daily weather as a direct driver of brain emergencies rather than a distant environmental backdrop. Intense heat strains the body by drawing water from the bloodstream, which can make blood thicker and easier to clot.

Dehydration can help trigger an ischemic stroke – a blocked brain artery – when blood flow narrows or slows. “Temperature extremes and rapid swings in temperature, humidity and air pressure have a physiological effect on the human body,”Human-driven global warming has already raised Earth’s average temperature by about 2°F, but winter cold still plays a role in stroke risk.Cold air can tighten blood vessels, raise blood pressure, and stir clotting chemicals that increase strain inside the brain…warming does not erase winter danger; it makes planning more complicated.

Alaska’s 2025 Mega Tsunami Highlights Risk to Cruise Lines as Glaciers Retreat

The “mega tsunami” recorded in Alaska in August 2025 was triggered by a “massive rockslide around the toe of a glacier”, serving as a “stark warning of the risks of coastal rockslides and glacier retreat fueled by the climate crisis”, the Guardian reported. The newspaper said the event was the world’s second-tallest tsunami, reaching 481 metres in height. Reuters also covered the study and quoted the  researchers saying  the landslide was driven by climate change. The glacier buttressing the mountain had retreated amid warming temperatures, eventually leaving the rock unsupported.” The New York Times said: “As glaciers retreat and thawing permafrost lubricates slopes, these giant landslides may become more frequent.”

Climate change has impacted the nitrogen cycle in global grasslands over 1980-2020, with implications for “human health and ecosystem integrity”

A study published in Science used data from 150 countries and found climate warming as the primary driver of increased nitrogen harvest, biological nitrogen fixation, and nitrogen surplus in global managed and undisturbed grasslands. For the year 2050, nitrogen input, harvest, and surplus in global grasslands are projected to increase annually by 22.3, 7.2, and 15.1 million tonnes, respectively, compared to baseline scenarios. These climate-induced alterations in nitrogen budgets could incur additional costs up to $69 billion because of associated impacts on human health and ecosystem integrity.