Climate change

Climate change is amplifying these risks, as warmer baseline ocean and atmospheric temperatures can intensify extremes.

Fernando cautioned that declining leaf quality, driven by erratic weather, could soon trigger a broader collapse in quantity and output.

The report comes as India is in the grip of a escalating heat crisis and heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and deadly, threatening lives, livelihoods, public health, agriculture, and economic productivity.

Pakistan’s experience mirrors global challenges, urging international cooperation on mitigation while building local resilience. In the blistering streets of Karachi, the human cost of inaction is measured not just in degrees, but in lives and livelihoods under threat.

The combination of erratic rainfall and rising temperatures is expected to increase both drought and flood risks during the same season.

For now, development agencies, implementing partners and beneficiaries across Bangladesh face an uncertain future as one of the country’s most significant sources of international development assistance comes to a sudden halt.

If winds strengthen as anticipated in early June, the monsoon could progress northward rapidly after onset.

As Delhi and much of India endure this punishing heat, the event serves as a stark reminder of the challenges posed by rising temperatures.