Bhasker Tripathi

As India puts more of the emissions-cutting biofuel ethanol in its petrol, consumers complain it damages their engines.

The government's fast-expanding ethanol programme aims to cut costly oil imports by blending petrol with ethanol, a biofuel derived from agricultural produce or organic waste that burns more cleanly than traditional gasoline.

India's punishingly hot summer has cast a harsh light on its efforts to contend with extreme heat, with researchers and campaigners worried local governments are failing to grapple with the scale and complexity of rising temperatures.

Summer, which usually lasts from March to June in India, began early this year with an unprecedented heatwave in February, followed by above-normal temperatures in March and April, before an early monsoon season and heavy rainfall brought temporary relief.

India's push for ethanol, mixing crop-based biofuel with petrol to run vehicles, is stalled by slow progress in making an environmentally cleaner version of the fuel, producers and experts say.

Standing in the way is the government's failure to pay more for cleaner ethanol, which is made from waste but costs more to produce, they say.

From scorching hot classrooms to flooded roads, climate change is forcing millions of students out of school, according to new UNICEF data.

Last year, at least 242 million students - or one in seven worldwide - experienced school disruptions due to extreme weather events, according to a June analysis from the United Nations children's agency UNICEF.

In Ghazipur, a small town tucked along the Ganges river in north India, farmer Satyadev Prajapati is counting fewer eggs hatched by his 350 free-range hens as the price of their feed soars by 40%.

India's fast-expanding biofuel programme, meant to cut oil imports and their emissions, has ratcheted up competition for maize, and small poultry producers like Prajapati are bearing the brunt.

R. Mahadevan, a shrimp farmer in southern India, is considering something no farmer wants to say out loud: stopping production.

Having already seen his monthly income shrink in recent years due to rising costs and stagnant demand, he said U.S. President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on Indian exports may push him to the brink.

As climate-fuelled disasters become more frequent and intense, companies and countries are experimenting with new models of insurance and financial help to manage risks and losses, among them, parametric insurance.

Parametric policies pay out a pre-agreed amount if certain parameters, such as rainfall or wind speed, are met, if damage has occurred. This allows for quicker payouts without needing damage assessments.

Using a carbon market-like tool to control air pollution can help developing countries such as India where the standard approach of limiting the emissions with policy making is falling short, a new study has found.

Air pollution is one of the most pressing health issues in India, where the country's 1.4 billion people breathe air exceeding the World Health Organisation's guidelines for particulate matter (PM).

As climate-fuelled disasters become more frequent and intense, companies, countries and aid workers are experimenting with new models of insurance and financial help to manage growing risks and losses - among them, parametric insurance.

Parametric policies pay out a pre-agreed amount of money if certain criteria - such as an amount of rainfall or wind speed - are met, the assumption being that damage will have occurred under those conditions.

India is pushing to add more biofuels to its fuel in a bid to shift to cleaner energy. Its target of a 20% ethanol blend in its gasoline by the end of this year aims to reduce both tailpipe pollution and the country's reliance on imported oil and natural gas.  

Biofuels, produced from organic matter like plants, crops or waste, are seen as a greener alternative to the planet-heating fossil fuels that power more than 90% of global transport.