Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

April temperatures break records in India

April temperatures break records in India

PARTS of India recorded their highest average temperatures on record in April, and the scorching weather is expected to stretch into May, authorities have said.

India and neighbouring Pakistan have been suffering from extreme heat waves this year, forcing school closures and triggering health and fire alerts.

Northwest and central India recorded average maximum temperatures of 35.9 and 37.78 Celsius respectively in April, the Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department told reporters on Saturday (30).

Those were the highest since it began keeping records 122 years ago, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra added.

More than a billion people are at risk of heat-related impacts in the region, scientists have warned, linking the early onset of an intense summer to climate change.

For the first time in decades, Pakistan went from winter to summer without the spring season, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, said on Saturday.

(Reuters)

More For You

boat-refugees
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France on October 25, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Record 19,982 migrants cross English Channel since January 1

NEARLY 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats from continental Europe since January 1, setting a new record for the first half of any year, according to UK government figures published on Tuesday.

A total of 19,982 people made the journey, surpassing the previous high of 13,489 recorded in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
record heat in uk

Although formal studies into this specific heatwave have yet to be completed

Getty Images

Met Office links record heat to human-driven climate change

Key points:

  • Britain recorded its hottest day of 2025 at 34.7°C in central London on Tuesday.
  • The Met Office said it was “virtually certain” the extreme heat was linked to human-driven climate change.
  • Gritters were deployed to protect road surfaces from melting due to high temperatures.
  • A fire broke out near Herne Hill station after an electrical box exploded.
  • June 2025 was England’s hottest June on record according to provisional Met Office data.

Heatwave hits peak as temperatures reach 34.7°C in London

Britain experienced its hottest day of the year on Tuesday, with temperatures climbing to 34.7°C in central London. The Met Office attributed the extreme weather to human-induced climate change, citing overwhelming scientific evidence from previous heatwave studies. While no formal climate attribution study has yet been conducted for June 2025’s heat events, experts say such conditions are now far more likely due to global warming.

The figure recorded at St James’s Park in Westminster was the highest of 2025 so far, prompting a range of emergency responses and public health alerts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama attends a prayer ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj on May 7, 2025.

Getty Images

Dalai Lama confirms spiritual role will continue after his death

THE DALAI LAMA has said that the 600-year-old Tibetan spiritual institution will continue after his death, and that his office will have the sole responsibility of naming his successor. The announcement came on Wednesday through a video message at the start of a religious leaders’ meeting in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades.

"In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue," he said, according to an official translation. The Dalai Lama also said he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from Tibetans in exile, Buddhists across the Himalayan region, Mongolia, and parts of Russia and China urging him to ensure the continuation of the institution.

Keep ReadingShow less
starmer

Starmer had already softened the proposals last week following criticism from Labour MPs who said the planned cuts to disability and sickness benefits went too far. (Photo:

Getty Images

Starmer makes major concessions on welfare bill to avoid defeat in Commons

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer avoided a parliamentary defeat on key welfare reforms on Tuesday, after agreeing to further concessions amid growing pressure from within the Labour Party.

Starmer had already softened the proposals last week following criticism from Labour MPs who said the planned cuts to disability and sickness benefits went too far.

Keep ReadingShow less
Visa UK

The aim is to attract graduate-level or above workers, making several low-paid roles ineligible for visas. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Government unveils stricter visa rules, to take effect from July 22

THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday introduced the first set of tougher immigration rules in the House of Commons aimed at reducing the recruitment of foreign skilled workers, including in the care sector. The new measures are described as a “complete reset” of the UK’s immigration system.

The proposed changes, originally outlined in an ‘Immigration White Paper’ in May, include raising the skills and salary thresholds for foreign workers — including those from India — ending overseas recruitment for care worker roles, and removing more than 100 occupations, such as chefs and plasterers, from the shortage occupation list that currently allows certain visa exemptions.

Keep ReadingShow less