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Key developments
India heat losses estimated at 2% of GDP
New IIED-led research reported by Climate Home News estimates extreme heat costs India’s low-income informal workers the equivalent of about 2% of national GDP annually. Surveys of about 540 households in Ajmer, Delhi and Agra found outdoor workers lose roughly 24 workdays a year and indoor workers about 15, with national extrapolations putting lost wages and kidney-disease costs at $78 billion annually.
Why it matters
The study puts a concrete economic figure on heat impacts for informal and migrant workers who are often outside formal labour protections.
Sources & driving stories
CLIMATE HOME NEWS · Megan Rowling
Climate Home News coverageWater UK warns datacentre plans lack supply
The Guardian reports that Water UK briefed MPs that government AI and datacentre growth plans are based on “fatally flawed” water forecasts because datacentres were excluded. More than three-quarters of UK datacentres are in already water-stressed south and east England, while reported calculations put current English datacentre drinking-water use at 6.6 million litres per day, with potential increases if capacity triples by 2030. The warning lands as hosepipe bans affect or are due to affect more than 20 million households after prolonged heat and rainfall deficits.
Why it matters
AI infrastructure expansion is colliding with climate-driven water stress and long lead times for new reservoirs and supply projects.
Sources & driving stories
THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian coverageTHE GUARDIAN · Damien Gayle
The Guardian coverageWoodside gas extension faces federal court challenge
The Guardian reports that the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock Art are challenging the Albanese government’s approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export extension in federal court. Environment minister Murray Watt approved operation of the Karratha gas processing plant until 2070; applicants argue the decision failed to properly assess emissions harms and risks to the Murujuga Indigenous rock art complex. UN special rapporteur Astrid Puentes Riaño has been allowed to intervene as a friend of the court.
Why it matters
The case tests how climate emissions, cultural heritage and international environmental duties are weighed in approvals for long-lived fossil fuel projects.
Sources & driving stories
THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Swiss team copied NASA climate data
France 24 reports ETH Zurich copied about 100 petabytes and six billion files of public NASA climate and environmental data to a Swiss supercomputing centre, with NOAA datasets planned next for AI forecasting models.
WORTH NOTING
New Mexico water cuts deadline set
Source New Mexico reports a Supreme Court-approved Rio Grande settlement requires New Mexico to reduce groundwater withdrawals by 18,200 acre-feet annually between May 2026 and May 2036, with expected costs above $150 million.
WORTH NOTING
Heat-linked sleep disruption quantified
Deutsche Welle reports wearable and under-mattress tracker data from 165 million nights showing that nighttime temperatures rising from about 12C to 27C increase the odds of sleeping under six hours by roughly 40%.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Who pays for heat adaptation?
The India worker study points to specific policy tools such as heat-triggered payments, micro-insurance and occupational protections, but does not resolve how costs would be shared among governments, employers and supply chains.
OPEN QUESTION
Can data infrastructure fit water limits?
UK datacentre growth plans appear to be advancing faster than water-demand accounting, reservoir planning and drought resilience measures.