June 25 - Thousands of people killed by extreme weather so far in 2015 as climate change feared to bring more heatwaves, hurricanes and floods in future

Thousands of people have been killed by extreme weather so far this year amid fears that climate change is leading to more deadly heatwaves, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. More than 1,000 people have died in Pakistan this week of heatstroke and dehydration as temperatures soared far above 40C and power cuts crippled Karachi. India is currently recovering from the second deadliest heatwave in the country's history, which had killed 2,500 people by the start of this month.

The Earth Sciences Minister, Harsh Vardhan, blamed the heatwave on climate change. “Let us not fool ourselves that there is no connection between the unusual number of deaths from the ongoing heat wave and the certainty of another failed monsoon,” he said. “It's not just an unusually hot summer, it is climate change.”