Counting of votes for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections is underway and initial trends show that the ruling BJP is leading on 248 out of 399 seats that have been counted at 12:00 pm. If the party wins this election, it will be for the first time in 37 years that a ruling party will return to power in the state. More details here.

Spring did not show up this year, but there has been fresh snowfall in April and May in some of the Himalayan states. Heatwaves are rising, lasting up to 36 days a year! But the monsoon rainfall over the Indo-Gangetic plains has reduced. India annually loses 101 billion work hours, equivalent to about 23 million jobs, due to the heat stress.