Asia

"GUANGZHOU, China — The rains brought torrents, pouring into basements and malls, the water swiftly rising a foot and a half."

"India's $3 billion plan to clean the holy Ganges river is badly behind schedule with large stretches contaminated by toxic waste and sewage, forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, according to government officials and documents seen by Reuters."

"For years, cutting carbon emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change was routinely near the top of the agenda at talks between the leaders of the United States and China. Not anymore."

"Two of India's most iconic rivers, considered sacred by nearly a billion Hindus in the country, have been given the status of living entities to save them from further harm caused by widespread pollution."

"Exploration work inside the nuclear plant’s failed reactors has barely begun, with the scale of the task described as ‘almost beyond comprehension’"

"To feed an enormous building boom, India’s relentless sand miners have devastated the waterways that make life there possible."

"China's consumption of coal fell in 2016 for a third year in a row, official data showed Tuesday, as the world's top carbon polluter has emerged as a global leader in addressing global warming."

"Leather processing is big business in Bangladesh, India, and other parts of the developing world, where regulations are lax and poisons run freely."