NEW DELHI – If you ask Ansar Khan, he will tell you that the heat killed his baby daughter Ina. She didn’t wake up from her afternoon nap in late May, on the dusty scrap of land she knew as home, with only a blue plastic sheet to shade her.

It was the hottest day he’d ever experienced, and a hot wind blew. It was 121 degrees in New Delhi that day.

“She was crying a bit, so we gave her milk and we all napped. When we woke up, we tried waking her up,” Khan tells NPR. “It was all over in half an hour.”

Heatwaves have been roiling swaths of South Asia since April, including southern Pakistan, where temperatures went over 125 degrees. In New Delhi, one of the world’s largest cities, with a population of over 30 million people, that 121-degree day was the peak.

Inequality in the face of heat

But the heatwave did not impact residents equally. Consider laborers like Ishtiyaq, 24, in the working-class Mina Bazaar in New Delhi. A megaphone rigged to his stall blares: “Drink it cold! Drink it sweet!” It’s an advertisement for lassi, a cooling yogurt drink. Men and women downed cups for about 10 cents apiece on a recent day, when the temperature was 100 degrees.

Ishtiyaq looks busy — but he says he’s in a slump. He expects he’ll only make $7 profit for the day’s work. “People stay home when it’s hot,” he shrugs. Ishtiyaq, who only has one name, says he doesn’t have that choice. He supports his wife, his kids, his parents. If he doesn’t work, there’s no money.

“What can I say brother? The poor must endure it all.”

-“This is what Indian vulnerability looks like,” says Aditya Valiathan Pillai, who studies policy responses to extreme heat at the New Delhi-based thinktank Sustainable Futures Collaborative. “You have 75% of India’s working population, well over 350 million people who are directly heat exposed because of their jobs,” he says, citing World Bank data.

Pillai says it’s not just outdoor workers. It includes people who live in slums — where it’s often hotter than other parts of the city, because those areas typically lack shade-giving trees, and homes are built with materials that can make spaces hotter, like aluminum roofs or even thick plastic. Like the Sanjay Camp, where tiny, jumbly homes huddle near New Delhi’s leafy diplomatic quarter.

A desperate search for water

There’s also no running water in Sanjay Camp. Men, women and kids crowd around a water pump, buckets and plastic tankers at the ready. Resident Ram Babu keeps order. One women in the crowd says she’s come from a nearby slum. “We don’t get much water near where we live, so I come here,” she says. She asks not to use her name because she’s not meant to be taking water allocated to Sanjay Camp. “I’m trying my luck,” she laughs.

Residents say government water tankers also come three times a day to shore up supplies. On New Delhi’s hottest days, one journalist filmed residents chasing one of those government tankers. Men clambered atop the moving vehicle. Women banged on the sides and threw up hoses hoping to drain off water for their buckets and water tankers.

And yet, a 40-minute drive away, to a homeless shelter for women and children, having a reliable water pump or a government water tanker is a dream. “We fight over water here,” says one resident. “There’s no water to drink. To wash. To cool down. Nothing.”

But they’re luckier than other unhoused families. At least, they have somewhere relatively safe to sleep. A few dozen mothers and children get to sleep here, in a large room. One little girl points to the beds crammed inside. “Three kids sleep in that bed,” she says. “And in that one, and in that one.” Two fans sluggishly push around the air. “It’s boiling here,” she whispers.

Children facing the spectre of death

Taranum, who only has one name and guesses her age at 34, sleeps here with her three daughters. She was recently diagnosed with typhoid, an illnessmore prevalent duringheatwaves when water contaminates more easily. She said at the peak of her illness, she felt like she would die. She’s terrified at the thought.

“I can’t die,” she says. “We are homeless. Who will take care of my daughters?” She shakes her head: “But I can’t complain. Other people have it harder. Two babies died in this heat.”

One of the babies was two days old.

Her mother’s name is Salma, and she lives under a tree near the shelter — there’s no space for her inside. On a shaky phone line arranged by a friend, she tells NPR that she pushed together a lean-to near her tree where she gave birth. She says her baby was healthy and began breastfeeding right away. But two days later, the infant died. She didn’t have a name.

Salma says the only shade she could give her baby — and her other children — was a plastic blue sheet that she pitched over them.

Ina Khan died too, at around the same time. She too, lived near the shelter, shaded by a wall. Ansar Khan is sure the heat caused her death, but there’s no way of proving that now.

But experts and studies say babies are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. Their small bodies can easily heat up. They can’t regulate their temperatures well –- they don’t sweat much, for starters. They easily dehydrate. And so they’re more likely to die.

“You can imagine how heat may have played a role in these cases,” says Harleen Marwah, pediatric resident physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an advocate of raising awareness of the dangers of extreme heat in children. “We know that the burden of extreme heat is not shared equally. And already, vulnerable populations tend to shoulder that burden even more.”

Pillai, who studies policy responses to extreme heat, says government institutions haven’t yet figured out a way to collect robust data around heat. “And that’s very simply because [of] this massive black hole we have in terms of understanding heat wave deaths and heat illnesses. I can’t even tell you whether hundreds of people have died or thousands of people have died. I can’t even put an order of magnitude to it.”

That’s because India isn’t ready for climate change-induced heatwaves that are pummeling this region, Pillai says. The infrastructure isn’t in place, including data gathering, even as these heatwaves are likely to occur more often, last longer and be more extreme.

“What we’re seeing today is nowhere close to how bad it’s going to get in the next ten, 15 years,” says Pillai. In fact, some areas of India may become the first places on earth to be exposed to heatwaves so extreme that humans will not be able to survive them without air conditioning or other types of cooling, according to a 2020 study by the consulting group McKinsey.

So far, local and foreign media report that dozens of people have died in India because of the heat but that is likely a vast undercount. The dead included 33 poll workers in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where citizens were casting their vote in the last stage of India’s six-week elections that ended on June 4.

The toll does not include Ina Khan, 6 months old.

Khan says when he took her to the hospital, no one asked him why she might have died. He says hospital officials simply confirmed Ina was dead, then handed her back for burial.

Her only known cause of death was scrawled on the receipt of her $7 burial at the local Muslim cemetery. It said, “fever.”

Copyright 2024 NPR

South Carolina WBB: News • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC • Polls • WNBA • Scholarship Chart

Last week in the WNBA saw another record for A’ja Wilson and another battle between Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso. Catch up on their weeks and all the other Gamecocks.

Atlanta Dream (6-6)
Laeticia Amihere (6 games, 2.8 minutes, 0.3 pts, 1.0 rebs)
Once again, Amihere’s only appearance of the week was in a blowout loss.

Last week:
Vs Washington (87-68 loss): 3 minutes, no stats
At Indiana (91-84 loss): DNP-CD
Vs Los Angeles (87-74 win): DNP-CD

Allisha Gray (12 games (12 starts), 32.2 mpg, 15.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg)
Gray got off to a little bit of a shaley start to the season, but she is once again playing at an All-Star level. 

Last week:
Vs Washington (87-68 loss):  28 minutes*, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, block
At Indiana (91-84 loss): 34 minutes*, 12 points, 5 rebounds, assist, block
Vs Los Angeles (87-74 win): 34 minutes*, 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists

This week’s schedule:
Wednesday, June 18 at Minnesota (8:00 ET, League Pass)
Friday, June 21 vs Indiana (7:30 ET, Ion)
Sunday, June 23 vs New York (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Chicago Sky (4-9)
Kamilla Cardoso (7 games (4 starts), 22.3 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Cardoso registered the first double-double of her career against Indiana, but she was held without a rebound in the second half as Aliyah Boston wore her down. It’s the difference between being a rookie and a second-year player.

Last week:
Vs Connecticut (83-75 loss): 30 minutes*, 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks
At Washington (83-81 loss): 24 minutes*, 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
At Indiana (91-83 loss): 35 minutes*, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, block

This week’s schedule:
Thursday, June 20 vs Dallas (Noon ET, League Pass)
Sunday, June 23 vs Indiana (4:00 ET, ESPN)

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Connecticut Sun (12-1)
Ty Harris (13 games (13 starts), 30.8 mpg, 10.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.8 rpg)
As the (nominal) point guard on the league’s best team, Harris has put together a dark horse All-Star candidacy. She distributes the ball, hits key shots, and plays tough defense. It’s hard to believe Dallas couldn’t find any use for Harris.

Last week:
Vs Indiana (89-72 win): 29 minutes*, 11 points, 4 assists
At Chicago (83-75 win): 32 minutes*, 13 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
At Dallas (85-67 win): 26 minutes*, 10 points, 4 assists, rebound

Tiffany Mitchell (13 games, 16.2 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
Mitchell isn’t scoring a lot, but she’s playing big minutes off the bench because of her defense. Connecticut currently has the WNBA’s best defense, so Mitchell is appreciated.

Last week:
Vs Indiana (89-72 win): 22 minutes, 10 points, assist
At Chicago (83-75 win): 22 minutes, 3 points, 3 assists, steal
At Dallas (85-67 win): 20 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds

This week’s schedule:
Tuesday, June 18 vs Los Angeles (7:00 ET, League Pass)
Friday, June 21 at Las Vegas (10:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, June 23 at Seattle (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Indiana Fever (5-10)
Aliyah Boston (15 games (15 starts), 29.6 mpg, 12.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 bpg)
Finally, Indiana is involving Boston in the offense with more than three seconds left on the shot clock. The result is three straight double-doubles, including 27 points to tie her career-high.  Boston is also second on the team in assists and the screen game with Caitlin Clark is finally taking off. 

Last week:
At Connecticut (89-72 loss): 33 minutes*, 14 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists
Vs Atlanta (91-84 win): 34 minutes*, 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists
Vs Chicago (91-83 win): 37 minutes*, 19 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists

Victaria Saxton (5 games, 2.4 mpg, 0.6 ppg, 0.2 rpg)
Saxton appeared in the blowout loss to Connecticut and got her third point of the season.

Last week:
At Connecticut (89-72 loss): 3 minutes, 1 point
Vs Atlanta (91-84 win): DNP-CD
Vs Chicago (91-83 win): DNP-CD

This week’s schedule:
Wednesday, June 19 vs Washington (7:00 ET, League Pass)
Friday, June 21 at Atlanta (7:30 ET, Ion)
Sunday, June 23 at Chicago (4:00 ET, ESPN)

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Las Vegas Aces (6-6)
A’ja Wilson (12 games (12 starts), 33.9 mpg, 28.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.5 bpg, 1.7 spg)
Record of the week: Wilson set the WNBA record with eight consecutive games with 25 or more points. She leads the league in scoring and rebounding and is second in blocks. Her scoring average is nearly 3 points higher than the single-season record, so naturally Rebecca Lobo isn’t sure Wilson should be the MVP.

Last week: 
Vs Minnesota (100-86 loss): 33 minutes*, 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
At Phoenix (103-99 win): 34 minutes*, 32 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, steal
Vs New York (90-82 loss): 36 minutes*, 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, block

This week’s schedule:
Wednesday, June 18 vs Seattle (10:00 ET, League Pass)
Friday, June 21 vs Connecticut (10:00 ET, Ion)

Los Angeles Sparks (4-10)
Zia Cooke (11 games, 7.6 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Cooke has fallen out of the Sparks’ rotation.

Last week:
At Seattle (95-79 loss): 1 minutes, assist
At Minnesota (81-76 loss): DNP-CD
At Atlanta (87-74 loss): DNP-CD

This week’s schedule:
Tuesday, June 18 at Connecticut (7:00 ET, League Pass)
Thursday, June 20 at New York (7:00 ET, Amazon Prime)
Saturday, June 22 at New York (3:00 ET, ESPN)

Phoenix Mercury (7-7)
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (10 games, 8.7 mpg, 2.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.5 bpg)
Herbert Harrigan has not played since Brittney Griner returned from injury.

Last week:
Vs Las Vegas (103-99 loss): DNP-CD
Vs Seattle (87-78 win): DNP-CD

This week’s schedule:
Tuesday, June 18 vs New York (10:00 ET, CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, June 22 at Minnesota (8:00 ET, League Pass)

Unsigned

Brea Beal 
Las Vegas cut Beal early in training camp.  

Alaina Coates (Preseason stats with Seattle: 2 games, 8.0 minutes, 3.0 pts, 1.0 reb, 1.0 block) 
Coates got a long look in Seattle but didn’t fit in with the Storm’s rebuild. She’s got lots of experience, though, and will probably be one of the first calls for any team that needs post depth once the season starts. 

Kaela Davis (Preseason stats with Seattle: 2 games, 14.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 3.5 rebs)
Davis was hoping to show she was fully recovered from an Achilles injury, but she didn’t do enough to convince Seattle. 

Destanni Henderson (Preseason stats with Atlanta: 2 games, 19.0 minutes, 3.5 pts, 6.0 assists, 2.0 rebs, 1.0 steal)
Henderson was signed after training camp started and put up nice numbers in Atlanta’s two preseason games. Whenever Henny gets a shot, she contributes, but she can’t seem to stick anywhere.

Many were surprised when Hall of Fame coach Paul Mainieri came out of retirement to become the next head baseball coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Returning to the SEC for the first time since 2021 after spending 15 years with LSU and leading the Tigers to a national championship.

In Columbia, South Carolina they’re hoping that Mainieri can bring the program similar success. Which never comes easy in the SEC and will only get more difficult next season with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference.

At his introductory press conference, Mainieri was asked what he thinks the biggest barrier will be between the Gamecocks and championship success.

“Well I think the league is getting tougher every year, there’s a lot of great teams out there,” Mainieri said. “And let me tell you something, one year I went as a coach our team went, at LSU, our team went 13-17. We make the SEC Tournament, there was only eight teams that went that year. I think that was 2011.”

“Two years later we went 17-13. We were national seed. Four game difference, 36-21 year to 40-16 the next. Four game difference in conference, four game difference overall. Went from not making the tournament to national seed, so the difference is razor thin,” Mainieri explained.

There isn’t a coach in college baseball that can speak from experience more than Mainieri, who rejoins the game with 1,501 career wins and 39 years of head coaching experience. Also understanding that playing the best when it matters the most in college baseball over any metric.

“You win a few one run games and you’re having a good year. that’s the key. You gotta win the close ones,” Mainieri said. “And the only way to win the close ones is with clutch hitting, poise on the mound and on defense late in the game, and a belief that they’re that you’re going to finish the game off. That’s one of the things that quite frankly we’ve been proud about in our career, as we’ve won a lot of close games, and I think it’ll make the difference in the season.”

South Carolina is an NCAA Tournament regular, but have not been able to break through to the College World Series and SEC Championship heights they were able to achieve a little over a decade ago. But with Mainieri now at the helm for the Gamecocks, it will be fascinating to see if the program can return to those heights.