India has just emerged from the longest heatwave in its history. Will the government now take climate change seriously?

In this issue

09-08-202432 STORIES

heat wave India Prayagraj.jpg

CLIMATE CHANGE —THE LEDE

India’s record heatwave vows to return: Can we survive the next?

The country just emerged from the longest-ever heatwave in its recorded history, and the forecasts for the future are alarming. Action is overdue.

FL cover climate change.jpg

Editor’s Note: We need a bigger, better heat action plan

As heatwaves intensify, India must scale up efforts to protect its vulnerable, boost climate resilience, and accelerate the shift to clean energy.

A woman carrying water in the heat

Scorching new normal demands bold, long-term government action

Current adaptation measures are falling short; comprehensive climate policy and rapid energy transition are crucial to protect vulnerable populations.

Climate scientist Indu K. Murthy

Future of heatwaves in India hinges on global efforts: Indu K. Murthy

The climate scientist says States must integrate heatwaves into broader disaster management frameworks to ensure healthcare facilities’ preparedness.

cop21 paris agreement protest.jpg

New climate model puts equity at the forefront

Researchers propose new framework for climate action that considers development levels, energy thresholds, and fair carbon budget allocation.

Rishika Pardikar

heat wave India.jpg

SUM AND SUBSTANCE

The heat will kill the economy. But it will kill us first

India’s heatwave is a wake-up call for climate action and economic resilience. But what’s the government actually doing about it?

Mitali Mukherjee

Kejriwal AAP.jpg

FROM THE SIDELINES

Can the Aam Aadmi Party survive?

This tiny party faces the harshest attacks from central agencies. Why does the BJP unleash so much wrath against the AAP?

Elderly Myanmar refugee.JPG

Myanmar refugees in Manipur: Caught between war and lies

Those taking shelter in eight camps here are people who fled Myanmar’s Sagaing region in November 2023 when their villages were razed by the junta.

Greeshma Kuthar

memorial sajanti.jpg

Chhattisgarh: No peace without justice

The State government’s Operation Prahar has seen a sharp spike in the killings and arrests of naxalites, activists and innocent villagers.

Ashutosh Sharma

Ready to bring naxalites into the mainstream: Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma

Sharma discusses peace initiative, development challenges, and security concerns in Bastar region as government steps up anti-insurgency efforts.

Ashutosh Sharma

Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand

After 2024 Lok Sabha rout, BSP returns to basics to reclaim lost voters

By lashing out at BJP and reinstating her nephew Akash Anand, Mayawati is trying to resurrect party fortunes. The byelections will test her strategy.

Suvendu Adhikari.jpg

BJP’s Bengal blues

Weak organisation, infighting and failure to penetrate Bengal’s socio-cultural traditions drive the saffron party’s decline in the State.

Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay

Chandrababu Naidu Amaravati.JPG

Amaravati: Chandrababu Naidu’s resurrected dream faces reality check

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has to address several challenges, beyond politics, before implementing the grandiose Master Plan.

Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Economic anxieties may have trumped Hindutva, yet deep-rooted political dysfunction persists

No political party espouses a social democratic agenda that addresses pressing economic and social challenges. This is deeply concerning.

India’s new criminal laws.jpg

New criminal laws expand police powers and restrict civil liberties

Legal experts say that the new laws retain colonial-era provisions, introduce misogynistic elements, and encroach on the powers of States.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Mumbai India inequality.JPG

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

India’s superpower dream faces steep economic hurdles

Successive governments have neglected the basic drivers of growth denting claims that India will become an “advanced nation” very soon.

C.P. Chandrasekhar

France left victory.jpg

EUROPESIDE—NOTES FROM A SMALL CONTINENT

A grim result for Le Pen—and for Macron, too

The French Left’s magnificent victory has beaten back the Far Right (for now) while thrusting Macron into a major constitutional crisis.

R. Sampanthan with C.V. Wigneswaran

Who will succeed R. Sampanthan in Sri Lanka?

The Tamil National Alliance leader’s demise adds a new layer of complexity to the island nation’s already complicated Tamil politics.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

Outside a vaccination centre in New Delhi on September 14, 2021.

Vaccine side effects: Real but rare; blanket ban not the answer

Scientific studies are the key to improving vaccine safety and performance while acknowledging the tragic but infrequent adverse effects.

Partha P. Majumder

Black hole at the centre of Omega Centauri

Science Notebook

Omega Centauri’s black hole, record-energy neutrino, and GaN semiconductors for nuclear reactors

Evidence for central black hole in Omega Centauri; undersea telescope spots most energetic neutrino; GaN semiconductors to monitor nuclear reactors.

R. Ramachandran

A collage of Paperclip stories

Paperclip: Pinning down truth in the age of misinformation

Digital storytelling platform fights fake news by sharing captivating anecdotes and lesser-known facts about India’s diverse cultural heritage.

Anusua Mukherjee

COUNTER CULTURE

The Ambani wedding: A spectacle of excess in an age of inequality

The festivity linked to the wedding was cinema and we have all just been an audience to the greatest circus trick: a disappearing moral compass.

Prathyush Parasuraman

Meru Gokhale, former editor-in-chief of Penguin Random House

‘I do not think AI is a threat to human creativity’: Meru Gokhale

Former editor-in-chief at Penguin Random House says her AI-assisted editing tool Editrix makes quality book editing accessible and affordable.

Jeanne Calment.jpg

A matter of life and death

Venki Ramakrishnan’s timely treatise on the science behind ageing and death offers readers a window into the miracle of life.

Sashikala Asirvatham

Sudha Bharadwaj.JPG

Bhima Koregaon and the search for justice

The book delves into the lives of each of the 16 activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case; who they are and what motivated them to keep fighting.

Ajay Gudavarthy

A guide to climate-smart cooking

Our traditional foodways are a model for how to live in a climate-risked world. First Food: Future of Taste explains just how.

Cusk 2.jpg

A daring but divisive experiment in fiction

Rachel Cusk pushes boundaries in her latest novel, blurring lines between art and life. Not recommended for the faint hearted.

Kairos pic.jpg

Erpenbeck’s excavation of East German memory

Jenny Erpenbeck’s “Kairos” digs into East German history through a suffocating May-December romance, mirroring national struggles in personal turmoil.

New books on the shelves

Discover a diverse range of novels from Japan to India, exploring themes of revolution, espionage, and cultural identity.

India, a Bengali story in translation

India: A Bengali story in translation

Translated by Arunava Sinha

Syed Mustafa Siraj

Dystopian Times.jpg

‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

FL 26-07-2024.jpg

Letters

Readers respond to Frontline’s coverage.

Archive

FL Cover.jpg

+ READ THIS ISSUE 09-08-2024

FL Cover_26-07-2024.jpg

+ READ THIS ISSUE 26-07-2024

FL 12-07-2024.jpg

+ READ THIS ISSUE 12-07-2024

FL Cover 1.jpg

+ READ THIS ISSUE 28-06-2024

+ SEE ALL ISSUES

Sign in to Unlock member-only benefits!

Bookmark stories to read later.
Comment on stories to start conversations.
Subscribe to our newsletters.
Get notified about discounts and offers to our products.