Temperatures across large parts of India and Pakistan have exceeded 46°C since mid-April 2026, with many regions recording conditions that are estimated to be between five and eight degrees above seasonal norms. At least 37 deaths have been attributed to the heat in India and ten in Pakistan, though researchers and public health officials have long cautioned that heat-related mortality is systematically undercounted across the subcontinent, meaning the true toll is likely to be considerably higher. Record electricity demand has been reported in India as households and businesses have turned to air conditioning, while drought conditions are believed to be affecting more than one million square kilometres across both countries. Several overlapping factors appear to have made this season particularly severe. Persistent high-pressure weather systems have been identified as a key driver, since such systems tend to suppress cloud formation, reduce the likelihood of cooling rainfall, and allow hot air to accumulate near the surface over many consecutive days. Drier soils compound the problem: when moisture is absent, less energy is absorbed by evaporation and more is redirected into heating the land itself. Urban areas are thought to be especially vulnerable, as built surfaces retain heat overnight, denying residents without access to cooling any meaningful respite. Underlying these immediate causes is the broader pattern of human-driven climate change. Analysis by World Weather Attribution suggests that the first major heatwave of this season, which ran from approximately 15 to 29 April, was made roughly three times more likely and around one degree Celsius hotter as a direct result of climate change. At current warming levels of approximately 1.4°C, events of this magnitude are estimated to occur across the subcontinent once every five years or so. The projections for coming decades are considerably more alarming.…