A new UN weather agency warning that climate change has serious consequences for Asia has coincided with extreme heatwaves in India, Thailand and Bangladesh and deadly floods in China and Pakistan this week, the Financial Times reports. It says that more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Guangdong province in China in recent days as heavy rainfall led to flooding (more on this below), while scores of people have been killed by floods in Pakistan once again in recent weeks. Meanwhile, many Indian cities are facing temperatures of 40C, while this level of heat has already been exceeded in Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia, the FT says. A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) finds that this run of extremes comes just after Asia experienced its hottest year on record in 2023, the newspaper adds. WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo tells the FT: “Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies, and, most importantly, human lives and the environment that we live in.” Harjeet Singh, a New Delhi-based COP veteran and climate activist, tells the newspaper that countries in Asia rapidly need finance to adapt their economies and deal with damages caused by climate change. He says: “Developing countries in Asia bear the brunt of climate-related adversities without the adequate means to combat foreseeable disasters and the worsening impacts of climate change.” Elsewhere, Bangladeshi newspaper the Business Standard reports that climate minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury has said the country will need $534bn to address climate change by 2050, with most of this coming from international financial support. 

China News reports that more heavy rain is expected in southern China with “precipitation in most areas being 50% to 80% higher than normal, and in some areas it was more than double”. Chinese economic news outlet Jiemian publishes an analysis on the flooding, quoting climate expert Xu Xiaofeng from China meteorological service association saying that the record-breaking precipitation levels are “happening against the backdrop of global warming” and that it has become a “basic fact that the significant increase in the frequency of extreme weather events is due to global climate warming”.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that according to a report by a Norwegian consultancy, China’s coal consumption “will see a ‘minor uptick’ in the next two years and then fall by one-third by 2040, ending up at around 25% of its peak in 2050”. Xinhua reports that according to the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), by the end of 2023, China had 55 nuclear power units in operation, accounting for nearly 5% of the cumulative electricity generation. This is equivalent to saving 130m tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 350m tonnes, the state news agency adds. Energy news outlet BJX News reports that China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has drafted a “special chapter” about green electricity trading, aiming to reduce government interference and allow the “electricity market management committee” to decide the price range “in principle”. China Energy News reports that the Ministry of Finance says it will support “new energy” and “independent, innovative energy storage” to be supported via “special bonds”.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the fact the “strong sales of more affordable” Chinese EVs in overseas markets “highlights that the composition of the main EV-producing economies is diverging considerably from the traditional auto industry”. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post publishes an article under the title: “China leads improvements in fossil fuel engine efficiency to fill electric gap.” Reuters publishes a piece with the headline: “China’s EV survival game creates peril – and power.”

Finally, Bloomberg reports that China has launched its “harshest attack to date” on the US’s overcapacity claims, just before secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit to China this week. State-run news agency Xinhua cites a commentary from Bloomberg by columnist David Fickling, saying that recent tariffs and trade restrictions on China’s clean technology, “not only increasing costs for American consumers but also creating barriers to decarbonisation, is an act of ‘economic self-harm’”.

A first-of-its-kind inquiry into the link between climate change and human rights is to be held at the Inter-American Court on Human Rights in Barbados this week, the New Humanitarian reports. According to the outlet, judges will hear from “climate change victims” including Julian Medina, a “Colombian fisherman who will argue that his livelihood and those of many like him are being adversely affected by climate change”. It continues: “The inquiry has been initiated by Colombia and Chile, whose governments are asking the hearing to define states’ legal responsibility to combat climate change and prevent it from violating people’s human rights, amid a proliferation of droughts, floods, landslides, and fires. The two countries are seeking clarity on, among many other issues, children’s and women’s rights, loss and damage, and the UN principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.” The Guardian speaks to Medina ahead of the trial. He tells the newspaper: “We see how industrial activity is affecting our entire ecosystem. But we also know that climate change is affecting our environment. It is a struggle and we are trying to make it visible in order to be heard.”

It comes as South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday began a case that accuses the government of having failed to protect 200 people, including dozens of young environmental activists and children, by not tackling climate change, according to Reuters. It explains: “The proceeding is Asia’s first such climate-related litigation, the plaintiffs said, which includes four petitions by children and infants among others dating from 2020, as well as one from a foetus at the time, nicknamed Woodpecker.” An article in Nature examines why a recent climate ruling in the European court of human rights could be a “gamechanger”. The Conservation carries an article from law professor Vernon Rive on what the European case could mean for New Zealand.

Scotland is in a “dangerous moment” as it tries to establish new climate goals, Climate Change Committee chief executive Chris Stark told Scottish MPs, BBC News reports. Scotland abandoned its 2030 emissions pledge after missing eight of its annual targets, but “insists” its 2045 goal to reach net-zero remains, BBC News says. Speaking about the 2030 target at Holyrood’s net-zero, energy and transport committee, Stark said that “a nine-fold increase in decarbonisation would have been needed to reach that legal target and it was ‘beyond credible’ that the Scottish government could have achieved that”, according to BBC News. Elsewhere, the Guardian speaks to former climate minister Claire O’Neill who says Rishi Sunak’s decision to rollback net-zero measures was a “retrograde step” that would set back cross-party action on emissions.

In other UK news, the Daily Telegraph is among publications reporting that a retired GP who was arrested for taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest has been suspended from practising for five months. Dr Sarah Benn was previously imprisoned for 31 days after being found to be in breach of a civil injunction during a Just Stop Oil protest at the Kingsbury oil terminal, in Warwickshire, in 2022, the newspaper says. Benn has previously said that climate change is “the most significant existential threat to global health we have ever faced”, the Daily Telegraph says. The Guardian adds that Benn faces being struck off permanently for her climate activism. Elsewhere, the Guardian speaks to the 69-year-old social worker Trudi Warner who successfully defended herself against government lawyers pursuing her with a contempt of court charge after her “lone, silent” protest outside of a London court.

Finally, Reuters covers an analysis by thinktank Ember showing that windfarms have been the primary source of electricity in the UK for the past two consecutive quarters, marking the longest stretch on record that renewable energy has surpassed fossil fuels in UK power generation. Meanwhile, the Press Association reports on Carbon Brief analysis finding that the share of British electricity generated by burning coal and gas fell to a record low of just 2.4% earlier this month.

Tesla is bringing forward the launch of new models after reporting a fall in quarterly revenue for the first time since 2020, the Times reports. According to the newspaper, the company said in a statement: “We have updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025.” The Daily Telegraph says that Tesla added this would include “more affordable models”. It says: “Investors have been awaiting news of a cheaper electric car, which Elon Musk has suggested could cost around $25,000 (£21,500), but have raised concerns that his attention is instead focused on an autonomous ‘robotaxi’.”

Elsewhere, a Lex opinion in the Financial Times says that dropping EV sales in Europe “shouldn’t ring alarm bells yet”. The FT also has a column by Tokyo correspondent David Keohane on why Nissan “needs more than a gamble on solid-state batteries”.

An editorial in the Guardian says that “tackling the climate crisis” could make a difference in the Sahel, a region experiencing escalating violence as well as extreme weather. The editorial says: “In facing a complex crisis, western nations will need to look beyond military issues and military solutions. Among the deeper roots are the climate emergency, which the UN says has already affected four-fifths of agricultural areas in a region where well over two-thirds of the population depend on the soil or on livestock. Taken with a population boom, the effects of the pandemic and the global food crisis, it has triggered violent conflicts over resources. Abdoulie Ceesay, the Gambian representative to COP28, last year called it ‘obscene’ to play down the issue, noting: ‘The rise of militarism has gone hand in hand with the rise in poverty, food insecurity, economic crises and extreme weather linked to climate change.’” The editorial notes that western nations are far behind on promises to provide climate finance, concluding: “Tackling the climate emergency will not end the Sahel’s problems. But they cannot be solved without an adequate response to the issue.”

Reflecting on Earth Day, science communicator Anjana Ahuja writes on the phenomenon of politicians and investors softening their opposition to new fossil fuels in the name of “energy pragmatism”. She says: “‘Pragmatism’, however, is too kind a label. Those watering down efforts to limit global temperature rises should instead be regarded as ‘hot earthers’ – defenders of an outdated status quo and comparable, in their rejection of reality, to the flat-earthers who resist the concept of curvature.”

Meteorological definitions for extreme weather events do not fully capture the negative impacts experienced by women in informal settlements, new research suggests. Using weather data and survey results collected over 2022-23 from a sample of 800 women in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, the study explores the impacts of temperature- and rainfall-related extreme weather. The findings show that thresholds of extreme weather currently used for early action and preparedness do not accurately reflect the women’s experiences in informal environments. The authors suggest that “self-reported impact data may provide an excellent first step in the process of (re)defining thresholds” for some extreme weather, although “more research and discussions with communities are needed”. An accompanying News & Views notes that, in one example, “despite no extreme heat days recorded at a meteorological station…13% of women…indicated experiencing at least one extreme heat event and some women indicated up to four heat events”. 

A new study explores the effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on “risk reduction versus development-related” measures. Reviewing more than 350 examples from published literature, the researchers find that “nature-based solutions have the strongest positive effects for both the coastal and agricultural sectors”. The results suggest “highlight the opportunity for development and climate adaptation practitioners to promote adaptation interventions with co-benefits beyond risk reduction, particularly in the case of nature-based solutions”, the authors conclude.