An Indian court has urged the government to declare a national emergency over the country’s ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). “Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of (the) heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month,” the court said Thursday. Ruling on the current heatwave and such events in the future, it also said India should begin declaring them “national calamities”. Researchers say human-induced climate change has driven the devastating heat impact in India and should be taken as a warning.

Source: The Guardian May 31, 2024 07:54 UTC