The CEO Karnataka recently published the final rolls for Karnataka after finishing their hurried and stressful Special Intensive Revision (SIR). People were asked to prove that they live where they do, and map themselves or their parents/ancestors to the 2002 voter roll. The final roll published now has 4.54 Crore electors in Karnataka as against the 5.54 Cr as per the 2025 Special Summary Review; a reduction of almost one crore electors or 18% of the earlier rolls. However, the numbers in the 28 constituencies in Bengaluru Urban paint a more drastic picture. The 1.026 crore electors as per the…

Over the past two decades, Chennai has weathered a tsunami, repeated floods, and now, according to a new study, a rapidly worsening mix of heat and rain. Heatwave-preconditioned extreme rainfall events in the Chennai Metropolitan Area have nearly tripled over four decades, rising from an average of 1.2 events a year between 1982 and 1991 to 3.2 events a year between 2012 and 2021. When a heatwave comes before the rain, the same study finds, the population exposed to flooding rises elevenfold and the number of buildings affected rises seven-fold. A separate assessment projects that heatwave days in the city…