State Grid plans record 4 trillion yuan spend to move surplus clean power
Two grid operators are expected to spend close to 5 trillion yuan by 2030, nearly double the 13th Five-Year Plan period, as western renewables outrun the wires.
Malaysia closes schools for 2 million children as Indonesian fire smoke blankets region
Kuala Lumpur’s air pollution index hit about 170 on Friday, and Singapore topped the world’s most-polluted list ahead of its Formula One weekend.
Tropical forests took months of extreme heat and drought in the 2023-24 El Niño
A study of 15.9 million square km of forest finds conditions like these could become routine within 20 years, even outside El Niño years.
Tropical forests worldwide baked through six months of record heat and drought
A study in Earth’s Future finds 75% of tropical forests had compound heat and drought in 2023-24, and warns the same conditions could become routine within two decades.
Coral reefs worldwide get little more than a year to recover before El Niño
NOAA now gives an 83% chance that El Niño reaches record strength in October–December, and many reefs are still recovering from the 2024 heatwaves.
Reef scientists: coral now gets years, not decades, to recover as El Niño builds
NOAA puts the chance of a historic El Niño in October–December at 83%, while many reefs hit by the 2024 heatwave had little more than a year to recover.
India’s 13% monsoon deficit brings drought declarations in several states
The national shortfall is smaller than in 1987 or 2002, yet drought has been declared in parts of several states. Reservoirs are also well below last year’s levels.
Climate shifts are widening India’s dengue and Vibrio risk, studies find
Lancet Countdown data and 2026 studies show mosquito and coastal-bacteria risks growing, though the picture differs by disease and state.
Bengaluru to host India’s first city-wide Climate Data Week from 12 October
The five-day programme will bring over 30 events and 2,000 attendees together to apply data and AI to climate risk, decarbonisation and resilience.
Punjab’s Balloh village offers free straw baling to curb stubble burning
Balloh in Bathinda has arranged four balers to clear paddy straw at no cost to farmers, as Punjab’s harvest and farm-fire season gets under way.
