Blistering heat and poor rains warning, Xi’s acceptance of North Korean nukes, the Pope’s Pyongyang visit plan, military crowd control in Jakarta protests, India’s recognition of women’s unpaid work, and China’s new ‘she economy’.

Authorities in Asia are bracing for the risk of a super El Niño, with higher temperatures and lower rainfall hitting residents, farmers and industrial operations.

Meteorological agencies in India,Thailand and Japan have joined Australia in declaring that El Niño conditions have formed in the Pacific Ocean.

A story in The Japan Times said dry weather was disrupting crop planting across Asia, raising concerns about food supplies in the world’s most populous region.

It said one of the strongest El Niños on record was widely expected to develop in the second half of this year.

Hot weather and below normal rains were hurting crops and forcing farmers to reduce planting from India’s grain-producing northwest to Thailand’s rice fields, Indonesia’s palm oil plantations and Australia’s eastern wheat belt.

Wheat prices had risen 20 per cent this year and rice prices at Southeast Asia export hubs had climbed by about 15 per cent in the past month.

Ucanews.com cited a report in the journal Science saying there was a 63 per cent chance the El Nino will grow into a very strong event later this year – double the odds assigned in May – and that it might become the strongest this century.

The World Meteorological Organisation had said Cambodia, Laos and southern Vietnam could expect extreme heat and water shortages.

Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia faced heat waves, followed by storms and flash floods, the story said.

India is already suffering from a water deficit as the arrival of monsoon rains is being delayed in many regions. The Hindu said the mid-June water deficit was 35 per cent, rising to 63 per cent in central India.

“While a rainfall deficit in June, the first of the monsoon months, is not unusual, it assumes additional significance in a year that forecasters globally have warned will likely be a ‘Super El Niño’ year,” the paper said.

In Thailand, climate expert Seree Supratid, of Rangsit University, said temperatures could rise by 1.5-to-2.5 degrees Celsius by April next year, Bangkok Post reported. Average temperatures in Bangkok could reach 39-to-41C.

The Thai government is concerned about a region called the Eastern Economic Corridor – the eastern seaboard and hinterland. It has a big population, extensive agriculture and a large slice of the country’s industry.

Bangkok Post reported government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek as saying water demand in the region next year would be almost double current levels.

The Japan News said temperatures were likely to soar this summer. “The El Niño this year deviates from the typical pattern,” said an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency. “We hope people will be well-prepared for the heat.”

Silence a turning point in denuclearisation debate

North Korea’s nuclear weapons remain a serious issue for G7 leaders. At their meeting in France this week, they expressed deep concern about Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to a Reuters report. They reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearisation of North Korea, in line with UN resolutions.

Yet their cause had already been undermined by Xi Jinping’s recent visit to North Korea. Over two days, China’s president did not mention........

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