Climate & Health: A new World Bank report warns extreme heat is already costing South Asia the equivalent of ~31 million full-time jobs each year and could cut the region’s economy by nearly 7% by 2050, with the worst hit being low-income workers and informal communities. Renewables & Power: China generated less than half its electricity from coal in the first half of 2026 for the first time, as renewables rose above 40% and wind/solar hit 24.6%, with storage and flexible grids flagged as key. Policy & Courts: India’s Supreme Court quashed a 2021 memo enabling retrospective environmental clearances, allowing only “measured regularisation” in narrow, time-bound cases tied to supervening public interest. Extreme Weather Planning: Tamil Nadu set up an expert panel to track expected El Niño impacts and advise on drought, floods, and coastal and urban risk management. Extreme Heat Adaptation in Cities: A separate push for climate-ready planning is echoed by new tools for climate risk assessment that generate scenario-based regional projections while capturing uncertainty. Biodiversity & Oceans: Japan’s Kumamoto earthquake response continues after a deadly quake damaged homes and a shopping centre, underscoring disaster risk in coastal and built environments. Textiles & Pollution: A study finds microfibres from textile production leak into the environment at large scale, with washing driving most intrinsic losses.