A softball game in Fukushima prefecture will give the Tokyo 2020 Olympics a symbolic start
The graphic above shows the number of heat wave deaths in India each year since 1967.
The heat wave is the result of an anti-cyclone over Pakistan and western Rajasthan, the impact of which is being felt across the northern plains.
Here are some important Do's and Don'ts to follow during a heatwave so as to avoid sunstrokes
A powerful earthquake has rocked the city of Sapporo in northern Japan just hours after large parts of the south of the country was battered by the biggest typhoon to hit in 25 years. The 6.6 magnitude quake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early Thursday, triggering landslides, bringing down several houses, and killing eight persons. No tsunami warning was issued after the quake.
Images from across Europe and parts of Asia show hot and bothered people dunking their feet in buckets of ice and wading into the sea as sweltering temperatures put some areas on red alert.
"The season averaged maximum temperatures in Himachal Pradesh, West Rajasthan, Konkan, Goa, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh are likely to be higher than normal by 0.5-1.0 degree Celsius," the Met department has said in its forecast.
Of that figure, a whopping 4,246 people died in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone.
'Rashtrapati Bhavan may have hygiene standards that are a benchmark for the rest of the hoi polloi, but you had to feel sorry for the august assembly of guests who braved the temperature for a seat at the new Cabinet's swearing in,' says Kishore Singh.
The first Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat may believe that the water crisis is a media creation, but the photographs below suggest otherwise.
Australian Open organisers have tweaked their 'Extreme Heat Policy' for next year's tournament after being accused of forcing players to perform in "inhuman" conditions during a heatwave in January.
Yes, India needs desperate measures to kick-start growth. But selling off its lungs to the highest bidder to hack away cannot be the way out, says Sumit Bhattacharya.
India maintained their status as the only unbeaten side left in this tournament.
Japan is being scorched by an intense heatwave that has prompted fears of similar extreme weather when the sporting showpiece takes place in the country.
The maximum temperature is likely to hover above 40 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours in many parts of the state, an official said on Wednesday.
In 20th edition of his radio programme 'Mann ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about water conservation, Rio Olympics and other subjects.
Here are some pictures of people who found interesting methods to avoid suffering under the fiery sun.
Tokyo has mostly delivered on that hope, despite some early teething problems.
Silverstone can provide the antidote to Austria for Lewis Hamilton this weekend, with a record sixth British Grand Prix win -- and his fifth in a row -- there for the taking.
The dust storm was an outcome of the extremely hot conditions.
'The limit of not playing the match is really high, it's like it needs to be above 45 degrees and humidity. I think this limit should be a little lower because playing in this condition is not nice for anyone'
The killer heat wave brought the nationwide toll to 2,338 even as some places like Delhi got respite on Monday.
The IMD chief also allayed fears of occurrence of an El-Nino.
The report states air quality in Indian households, especially in the rural areas, is lethal due to use of wood or cow dung as cooking fuel coupled with poor ventilation.
'He (Kohli) is a top ranked player in the world at the moment and I think a dangerous customer for England as he has the motivation to improve his record in this country. Every player wants to be known to be able to play well in all sorts of conditions'
Zaheer Khan sees no harm in people having high expectations from the young left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the upcoming five-Test series starting August 1.
War-torn Afghanistan, playing only their third match after being inducted as a Test-playing nation two years ago, completed a famous victory by defeating Bangladesh by 224 runs with 3.2 overs left on the final day on Monday.
Djokovic, playing his first tournament for six months because of an elbow problem, dropped his opening two service games and although he battled back to break Monfils twice he wavered again as scrappy opener went his opponents' way.
With climate change impacts worsening and affecting the poor and most vulnerable, governments urgently need to scale up adaptation
'Virat, as a captain, is very positive and will back an attacking bowler. He will possibly believe that Kuldeep has more to offer than Ashwin or Jadeja, and then that's the route Virat will take. And then the wrist spinner has to perform, and replicate with the red ball what he has done with the white ball. We won't know until he is given a go'
The index went below the crucial 50 mark.
The heatwave, brought on by a mass of hot air flowing north from Africa to Europe in recent days, has enveloped Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and northern Italy, and is expected to last several days and extend further north.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was hit with a slipper hurled at him by a youth protesting against a government advisory on lighting fires during a public interaction after which the offender was arrested.
Chris Froome and Alberto Contador were back in control of the Tour de France, hurting their main rivals in a hectic second stage won by German Andre Greipel on Sunday.
Light to moderate rainfall in various parts of the country, including Delhi, on Tuesday brought respite from the scorching sun but heat wave claimed 16 more lives in Andhra Pradesh and three in Odisha, raising the nationwide toll to 2,357.
Top moments from around the world in the week that was.
Images from matches played on Day 5 at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Friday
Ian Bell joined an elite trio on Thursday with his third Ashes century in successive Tests after England had lost three cheap wickets on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Lord's.
Since the US, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, has shifted in a major way to shale gas, the focus of global environmentalists' ire has fallen on India, which is the third biggest emitter, reports Darryl D'Monte.
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