Killer heat fueled by climate change could cause an additional 150,000 deaths this century in the biggest U.S. cities if no steps are taken to curb carbon emissions and improve emergency services, according to a new report.

The three cities with the highest projected heat death tolls are Louisville, with an estimated 19,000 heat-related fatalities by 2099; Detroit, with 17,900, and Cleveland, with 16,600, the Natural Resources Defense Council found in its analysis of peer-reviewed data, released on Wednesday.

China's capital will spend 118 million yuan ($18.66 million) by the end of the year to improve the quality of drinking water drawn from wells, the city's water resource management authorities said Wednesday.

The quality of drinking water for about 300,000 people will be greatly improved following technical modifications to 54 wells, the Beijing Water Authority said.

Improvements will first be made to wells that are known to have safety risks, as well as those that serve areas that do not have access to tap water.

Drought and disease have devastated life of coconut growers in the district. Rubbing salt into their wounds is the slump in price of copra and coconut.

Various diseases, including pest attack and stem bleeding, have ravaged crops on thousands of acres. Coconut trees in the rain-fed regions of Madhugiri, Pavagad, Sira and Koratagere have withered, leaving the distraught farmers in debt trap. The diseases have destroyed crop in and around 15 acres of plantation at Baragur in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk and scores of acres in Hosakere, Nittur, CS Pur hoblis in Gubbi taluk

The Central government has sanctioned Rs. 588 crore as drought relief for Maharashtra, which is reeling under the crisis, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Patangrao Kadam announced on Tuesday.

The State whose 15 districts have been declared drought-affected, had appealed to the Centre for relief recently. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and representatives of all parties had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a proposal for Rs. 2,700 crore.

Wars keep children out of school. So does sickness. But in Niger, a sun-baked land where drought occurs with alarming frequency, a major impediment to education is thirst and the long trek required to quench it.

The school day had already begun on a recent morning as a procession of small children on donkeys, school-age all, made their way over a sandy field, joining other youths gathered with their animals around deep holes in the ground.

Policies and programmes on climate change have failed to address the problems of the vulnerable communities at the grassroots level in the country, a new study said. The findings on "Towards climate change resilience building of vulnerable mountain people and local governments" in Ramechhap shared that there is a lack of effective integrating agency at the central level to push climate change agenda at the local level.

It will be a while before Karnataka can expect any grant from the Centre for drought relief.

The Central drought assessment team headed by Parvesh Sharma on Wednesday directed the State government to furnish detailed statistics within a week’s time. The officials, at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, expressed dissatisfaction over the information provided by the Gowda-led all-party delegation in its memorandum.