DK, Udupi, Uttara Kannada among ten Karnataka districts facing ‘very high’ heat risk: Study
Bengaluru: A new study has revealed that ten districts in Karnataka face "very high" heat risks, with Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada topping the list. Notably, no district in the state is classified as low-risk, highlighting the growing threat of heatwaves across Karnataka.
The findings come from an assessment by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a non-profit research centre. The study, as cited by Deccan Herald, evaluated heat risks across 734 districts in India using 35 indicators to paint a detailed picture of heat hazard trends from 1982 to 2022.
Nationally, 151 districts fall into the “very high” risk category, while only 116 are considered to have low or very low risk.
Karnataka's heat risk profile is alarming, with ten districts falling under the "very high risk" category and another eighteen classified as "high risk." Only two districts—Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Rural—are considered to be at "moderate risk," while no district in the state is listed under the "low risk" category.
The report highlighted a troubling trend: heat extremes in India have increased consistently over the past four decades, resulting in landmark heatwaves in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2024.
Vishwas Chitale, senior programme lead at CEEW, noted that India needs to invest in long-term resilience. "States like Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are already taking pioneering steps by integrating climate and health data into local planning. Now is the time to scale these efforts nationally, using district-level risk assessments to prioritise funding and action," DH quoted him as saying.
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Rahul calls Bittu 'traitor', Union minister retorts with 'desh ke dushman' jibe
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday exchanged barbs with former party colleague and union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu in Parliament premises.
In videos released by the Congress, Gandhi was heard calling Bittu "a traitor" and the minister retorting with "desh ke dushman" (enemy of the nation) jibe.
The incident took place right outside Parliament's Makar Dwar, the main entrance which MPs take to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab.
As soon as he was about to speak, Bittu passed by, and remarked, "they (suspended Congress MPs are sitting here as if they have won a war".
Gandhi hit back, "The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks."
Gandhi then extended his hand towards Bittu for a handshake, and said, "Hello brother, my traitor friend".
"Don't worry, you will come back (to the Congress)", Gandhi added addressing the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing.
Bittu, however, declined to shake hands with Gandhi and, while pointing to him, said, "desh ke dushman."
The union minister was seen in the videos springing past the Makar Dwar stairs, repeating his "desh ke dushman" charge while pointing at the Congress leaders and suspended MPs, who continued to jeer at him.
They were also heard saying, "surrender, surrender".
Bittu, the grandson of late Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was a former MP of the Congress from Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib before he switched sides to the BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
