Drier weather threatens India’s tea exports, global supply

Under blazing skies at a tea plantation in India’s northeastern state of Assam, worker Kamini Kurmi wears an umbrella fastened over her head to keep her hands free to pluck delicate leaves from the bushes.

“When it’s really hot, my head spins and my heart begins to beat very fast,” said Kurmi, one of the many women employed for their dextrous fingers, instead of machines that harvest most conventional crops within a matter of days.

Weather extremes are shrivelling harvests on India’s tea plantations, endangering the future of an industry renowned for beverages as refreshing as the state of Assam and the adjoining hill station of Darjeeling in West Bengal state, while reshaping a global trade estimated at more than $10bn a year.

“Shifts in temperature and rainfall patterns are no longer occasional anomalies; they are the new normal,” said Rupanjali Deb Baruah, a scientist at the Tea Research Association.

As changing patterns reduce yields and stall output, rising domestic consumption in India is expected to shrink exports from the world’s second-largest tea producer.

Damaged tea leaves from the Chota Tingrai estate in Tinsukia, Assam. [Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters]

While output stagnates in other key producers such as Kenya and Sri Lanka, declining Indian exports, which made up 12 percent of global trade last year, could boost prices.

Tea prices at Indian auctions have grown by just 4.8 percent a year for three decades, far behind the 10 percent achieved by staples such as wheat and rice.

The mildly warm, humid conditions crucial for Assam’s tea-growing districts are increasingly being disrupted by lengthy dry spells and sudden, intense rains.

Such weather not only helps pests breed, but also forces estate owners to turn to the rarely used practice of irrigating plantations, said Mritunjay Jalan, the owner of an 82-year-old tea estate in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Rainfall there has dropped by more than 250mm (10 inches) between 1921 and 2024, while minimum temperatures have risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit), the Tea Research Association says.

The monsoon, Assam’s key source of rain, as summer and winter showers have nearly disappeared, brought rainfall this season that was 38 percent below average.

That has helped to shorten the peak output season to just a few months, narrowing the harvesting window, said senior tea planter Prabhat Bezboruah.

Patchy rains bring more frequent pest infestations, leaving tea leaves discoloured, blotched brown, and sometimes riddled with tiny holes.

Drier weather threatens India's tea exports, global supply
A worker inspects dried tea leaves inside a tea manufacturing unit at the Chota Tingrai estate. [Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters]

These measures, in turn, add to costs, which are already rising at 8 to 9 percent a year, driven up by higher wages and prices of fertiliser, said Hemant Bangur, chairman of the leading industry body, the Indian Tea Association.

Planters say government incentives are insufficient to spur replanting, crucial in Assam, where many colonial-era tea bushes yield less and lose resilience to weather as they age beyond the usual productive span of 40 to 50 years.

India’s tea industry has flourished for nearly 200 years, but its share of global trade could fall below the 2024 figure of 12 percent, as the increasing prosperity of a growing population boosts demand at home.

Domestic consumption jumped 23 percent over the past decade to 1.2 million tonnes, far outpacing production growth of 6.3 percent, the Indian Tea Association says.

While exports of quality tea have shrunk in recent years, India’s imports have grown, nearly doubling in 2024 to a record 45,300 tonnes.

Chemistry Nobel Prize awarded to trio in field of metal-organic frameworks

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M Yaghi for their work in the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOF).

The three scientists, who won the award on Wednesday, come from the universities of Kyoto in Japan, Melbourne in Australia and Berkeley in the United States, respectively.

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The three have created “molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow”, read a statement from the Nobel Prize. Such constructions can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or brake down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment.

“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

According to Olof Ramström, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, the new form of molecular architecture can be compared to the handbag of fictional Harry Potter character Hermione Granger: small on the outside but very large on the inside.

The chemists, working separately but adding to each other’s breakthroughs, devised ways to make stable metal organic frameworks — which may be compared to the timber framework of a house.

These structures can absorb and contain gases inside these frameworks, with many practical applications today — such as capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or sucking water out of dry desert air.

The first step into what would have been a decades-long journey was in 1989 when Robson tested atoms’ properties in a new way, combining positively charged copper ions with a four-armed molecule. This had a chemical group that was attracted to copper ions at the end of each arm, reads a description in the Nobel Prize’s statement.

When they were combined, they formed a shape similar to a diamond filled with cavities. But the crystal would collapse easily. That is when Kitagawa and Yaghi entered the frame. Working separately between 1992 and 2003, they made a series of discoveries to make the metal frameworks stable. Kitagawa showed that they could be made flexible while Yaghi discovered that they can be modified using rational design.

The 2024 prize was awarded to David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington in Seattle, and to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, computer scientists at Google DeepMind, a British-American artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory based in London.

The three were awarded for discovering powerful techniques to decode and design novel proteins, the building blocks of life. Their work used advanced technologies, including AI, and can potentially transform how new drugs and other materials are made.

The first Nobel of 2025 was announced Monday. The prize in medicine went to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

Tuesday’s physics prize went to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for their research on the weird world of subatomic quantum tunneling that advances the power of everyday digital communications and computing.

This year’s Nobel announcements continue with the literature prize Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics prize next Monday.

Ethiopia claims Eritrea is readying to ‘wage war’ against it

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea’s government of working with an opposition group based in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region to prepare for a military offensive, underscoring concerns of renewed conflict in the region.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos made the claim in a letter appealing to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, cited by the AFP news agency and Ethiopian media on Wednesday.

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In the letter, Timothewos claims there is clear “collusion” between Eritrea’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a once-dominant political force in Ethiopia that fought a two-year civil war with Addis Ababa, ending in 2022.

“The collusion between the Eritrean government and the TPLF has become more evident over the past few months,” said the letter, quoted by AFP. “The hardliner faction of the TPLF and the Eritrean government are actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia.”

In the letter, Addis Ababa also accuses Asmara and the TPLF of “funding, mobilising and directing armed groups” in the northern Amhara region, where the federal army has been facing rebels for several years.

The message speaks to deteriorating relations between neighbouring Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have a decades-long bloody history.

After Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, a border war erupted between the two Horn of Africa countries from 1998 to 2000, leaving tens of thousands dead.

Relations thawed in 2018 after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, with the Eritrean army supporting Ethiopian federal forces in the 2020-2022 Tigray War.

Since the conflict ended, relations have again taken a belligerent turn, with Asmara accusing its landlocked neighbour of eyeing the Assab port on the Red Sea in southeastern Eritrea.

Abiy has repeatedly expressed hopes for Ethiopia to regain sea access, lost legally after Eritrea’s independence.

Timothewos, in his letter to Guterres, said Addis Ababa wants “to engage in good faith negotiations with the government of Eritrea” and has a vision of “shared prosperity through integration that preserves the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both states”.

He accused Asmara of trying “to justify its sinister machinations against Ethiopia by claiming that it feels threatened by Ethiopia’s quest to gain access to the sea”.

‘Do you want a player to die on court?’ – Tennis stars wilt in China heat

Novak Djokovic threw up, Alexander Zverev poured sweat out of his shoe, and Emma Raducanu quit her match with dizziness – and the bad news for the world’s top tennis players is that more baking weather awaits them in China this week.

Denmark’s Holger Rune called the temperatures of more than 30C (86F) and humidity soaring past 80 percent at the Shanghai Masters “brutal”.

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“Do you want a player to die on court?” Rune was heard asking this week in the fierce conditions.

The 24 Grand Slam winner Djokovic labelled it “very challenging physically” on Tuesday as he battled the heat and an ankle injury scare to reach the quarterfinals.

The ailing 38-year-old crouched over frequently in between rallies against Spain’s Jaume Munar and vomited on court.

After one unforced error, Djokovic dropped to the court and remained splayed out as a medic rushed over, before regathering himself to win in three battling sets.

The draw has opened up for the Serb after world number one Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the tournament to rest, and defending champion Jannik Sinner retired from his match on Sunday with cramp.

Zverev, ranked three in the world, was beaten on Monday, having had to pause during his defeat to change his shoes because sweat was pouring out of them.

Spectators at the centre court wafted fans and wore cool packs on their foreheads to counter the suffocating humidity.

Novak Djokovic pauses for breath during a match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 7, 2025 [Hu Chengwei/Getty Images]

The main court in Shanghai has a roof, but it remains open and would only be closed if it rains – there is no prospect of that for the remainder of the tournament.

Rune called on the men’s governing body, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), to introduce a heat rule at events such as the Shanghai Masters.

The ATP said in a statement that player safety was its top priority, and it was considering such a policy.

Currently, decisions affecting play to do with weather conditions, including heat, lie with the on-site ATP supervisor, in coordination with on-site medical teams and local authorities, it said.

Conditions felt marginally less oppressive on Wednesday in Shanghai, but forecasts were still for highs of 29C (84F).

Temperatures are set to rise again in the coming days and peak on Sunday, the day of the final, at an estimated 32-33C (90-91F).

France’s Arthur Rinderknech, who reached the quarterfinals on Wednesday, said it was not only the players who were suffering.

“It was as hard for the ball boys, for the umpire, for the fans, everybody was always like this – blowing air to the face because it was really hot,” he said.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during the match against Jaume Munar of Spain in the Men's Singles round of 16 match on day 9 of the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qi Zhong Tennis Center
Novak Djokovic takes on fluids while his team tends to him during the match against Jaume Munar [Lintao Zhang/Getty Images]

The conditions are equally punishing in Wuhan, central China, where top women’s players are competing.

Temperatures are above average for this time of year in both cities.

Scientists have consistently warned that human-driven climate change is resulting in more frequent and intense weather events worldwide.

The difference between Wuhan and Shanghai is that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has a heat policy.

At the WTA Wuhan Open on Tuesday, former Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Jelena Ostapenko retired from their matches.

Raducanu had her blood pressure and other vitals checked before retiring with dizziness from her first-round match.

World number two Iga Swiatek called on organisers to take player safety into account when scheduling matches on the outdoor courts, where there is no roof.

“On centre court, I think it’s a little bit cooler with the air conditioning and everything,” she said.

“But I hope the other matches will be scheduled at a time where girls can compete, rather than just die on the court.”

Temperatures above 30C forced organisers to put the WTA’s heat rule into effect on Monday, as play was suspended on the outside courts.

The heat rule was also in effect for part of Tuesday.

The policy allows players to take a 10-minute break between the second and third sets, and means the tournament can partially or fully close the centre-court roof to protect players.

The rule looks set to come into play repeatedly this week in Wuhan, where highs above 30C are forecast all week, including for Sunday’s final.

General views of Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot against Jaume Munar of Spain in the Men's singles round of 16 match on Day 9 of 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qi Zhong Tennis Center on October 07, 2025 in Shanghai, China
The Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai will stage the finals of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday and Sunday [Lintao Zhang/Getty Images]

Dozens killed as Pakistani army, fighters clash near Afghan border

Eleven military personnel have been killed in a gunfight with armed fighters in the country’s northwest, according to the Pakistani army.

The gun battle erupted early on Wednesday during an intelligence operation in the Orakzai district near the Afghan border, the army said in a news release.

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During the intelligence raid, the military said, an “intense” exchange of fire broke out with “Khawarij”, a term it uses for banned groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Among the dead were Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Arif and his deputy, Major Tayyab Rahat, along with nine other soldiers. The army said 19 fighters were also killed.

The Reuters news agency, citing Pakistani security officials, reported that the fighters ambushed a military convoy with a roadside bomb before opening fire.

In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded security forces for their service and paid tribute to the troops who lost their lives.

In recent months, the Pakistan Taliban, which wants to overthrow the government and replace it with their hardline brand of Islamic governance, has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces.