Environment News

Published on Nov 21, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Rich countries need not reinvent the wheel

To estimate the developing world’s requirements in climate finance, economists add together three financing needs. (Unsplash)

The Economist

COP29 president scrambles to save deadlocked talks

Developing countries refuse to commit to stronger climate action without clear financial commitments from developed nations.

The COP29 UN Climate Summit venue in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo)

Published on Nov 19, 2024 10:22 AM IST

ByJayashree Nandi, New Delhi

Weather Bee | More than one dataset can breach the 1.5°C threshold this year

Divergence between datasets means that the breach of the 1.5°C threshold can be a staggered event with different datasets reporting the event in different years

Raisen, Nov 13 (ANI): A hot air balloon flies in the air over UNESCO's world heritage site Sanchi Stupas during a hot air balloon show. (ANI Photo) (Sanjeev Gupta)

Published on Nov 17, 2024 09:00 AM IST

Himalayan nations in a huddle at COP29; Brazil to announce ambitious climate plan

India urged nations, particularly Pakistan and Bangladesh, to take proactive, collaborative steps to manage and mitigate air pollution across borders.

The venue of the COP29 UN Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo)

Published on Nov 13, 2024 02:20 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

COP29 opens with divisions over Europe’s carbon border tax and climate financing

CBAM is hailed by the EU as a critical step to curb carbon leakage. However, developing nations claim it disproportionately burdens them

A night view shows the venue of the United Nations climate change conference, known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday. (REUTERS)

Published on Nov 12, 2024 11:14 PM IST

COP29 president says New Collective Quantified Goal ‘top priority’

India, in line with the needs of developing countries, has said in the past that developed countries need to provide at least USD 1 trillion per year as climate finance.

A pedestrian walks past a COP29 information centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday. (AFP Photo)

Published on Nov 11, 2024 01:38 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

Climate commitments continue to miss key targets of the Paris Agreement: Report

The latest synthesis report shows climate action is still insufficient, with emissions reductions lacking the depth needed for the Paris Agreement targets

New Delhi, India- October 18, 2024: Yamuna River at Kalindi Kunj has foamed up in large quantities. The Yamuna in Delhi is almost dead and in most places the water is not fit for bathing, let alone sustaining aquatic life. The main reason for this is the high ammonia levels in the river due to excessive emissions of industrial pollutants, in New Delhi, India, on Friday, October 18, 2024. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Published on Nov 08, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Weather Bee | What a forecast for 1.5°C warming in 2024 means

New climate data from the C3S shows that 2024 is almost certain to be the first year with temperatures exceeding the pre-industrial average by more than 1.5°C

Scientists have weather models that can forecast temperatures with some accuracy only up to a few weeks, and they are very accurate for only a few days ahead. So, how are they certain what global temperatures will average up to December? (HT File Photo)(HT_PRINT)

Published on Nov 08, 2024 07:30 AM IST

2024 to be warmest year on record, first to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius limit: Copernicus

The average temperature anomaly for the rest of 2024 would have to drop to almost zero for 2024 to not be the warmest year, the climate agency said.

A person pours water on another man to cool off during a hot day in Karachi, Pakistan in May this year. (AP Photo)

Published on Nov 07, 2024 02:43 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

'No More Hot Air’: UNEP calls for urgent action to prevent climate catastrophe

As emissions climb to unprecedented levels, the UNEP’s latest report exposes a widening chasm between climate pledges and reality.

FILE PHOTO: A countdown display for the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference is set in Baku, Azerbaijan October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Karimov/File Photo(REUTERS)

Published on Nov 06, 2024 04:21 PM IST

Weather Bee: Dry weather, record-low snow pack kept northern India warm in Oct

Temperatures are running warmer than normal (considered as the average temperature in the 1981-2010 period, according to IMD) in the northern half of India.

There has been no rain in Chandigarh so far this month and similar weather is expected to continue for the next two weeks. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Published on Nov 01, 2024 12:45 PM IST

Climate crisis posing grave health, survival threats: Report

In 2023, people were exposed to, on an average, an unprecedented 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than expected without the climate crisis.

Climate activists protest in London on Monday. (Bloomberg Photo)

Published on Oct 30, 2024 08:46 AM IST

ByRhythma Kaul, New Delhi

Tiny farmers: Ants began farming fungi 66 million years ago, says new study

Ant agriculture offers a glimpse into a system that has survived mass extinctions, climate change, and even infectious diseases.

A close-up of an any colony. (Shutterstock Photo)

Published on Oct 29, 2024 04:09 PM IST

ByAnirban Mahapatra

Record GHG emissions put Earth on course of warming for decades to come: WMO report

CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever experienced during human existence, rising by more than 10% in just two decades, the WMO said.

Climate demonstrators during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, on October 25. (Bloomberg Photo)

Updated on Oct 28, 2024 02:41 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

Weather Bee | Are two storms rare in the Bay of Bengal in October?

At least one cyclonic disturbance occurred in October in Bay of Bengal in 117 years from 1891 to 2023, which gives an 88% probability of such a storm in October

Villagers stand near damaged temporary houses following the landfall of cyclone Dana in East Midnapore district around 180km southwest of Kolkata, on October 25, 2024. Cyclone Dana uprooted trees and power lines after making landfall on India's east coast, with officials warning of more fierce weather on October 25. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)(AFP)

Published on Oct 26, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Expanding contributors, a prerequisite for an ambitious finance deal: EU

The New Collective Quantitative Goal is a new financial target to support developing countries in their climate actions post-2025.

Climate activists protest against in Washington, DC, on October 21. (Bloomberg Photo)

Published on Oct 23, 2024 09:07 AM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

Do floods in peninsular India mean an extreme start to northeast monsoon?

IMD classifies 24-hour rain into nine categories by absolute rainfall: from “no rain” to “extremely heavy rain”

People wade through a flooded street after heavy rains in Chennai, India, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)(AP)

Published on Oct 19, 2024 08:00 AM IST

How the 2024 US elections could shape global environmental policy

Despite the existential threat of climate crisis, it has not been a focal point of the 2024 campaign thus far

TOPSHOT - A drone image shows a flooded street due to Hurricane Milton in Siesta Key, Florida, on October 10, 2024. At least four people were confirmed killed as a result of two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton on the east coast of the US state of Florida, local authorities said Thursday. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP)(AFP)

Published on Oct 18, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Record ocean temperatures fuel unprecedented hurricane activity in Florida

Warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean and cooler conditions in the Pacific are driving Florida's back-to-back hurricanes

Published on Oct 12, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Cause and Effect | The Hague bans fossil fuel ads

The city's municipal council voted to approve the new rules for outdoor advertising, which will apply to billboards and freestanding advertising screens.

The Hague, the country’s administrative centre and the hub of international law is seeking to be climate-neutral by 2030.(Takeaway/Wikimedia Commons)

Published on Oct 05, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Weather Bee | Why the Bihar floods last week were widespread

Vulnerability to floods was widespread in Bihar in the last week, though far from being the longest everywhere.

Saharsa: An area submerged due to floods, in Saharsa district of Bihar, Tuesday, Oct 1, 2024. (PTI Photo)
(PTI10_01_2024_000500A)(PTI)

Published on Oct 03, 2024 08:27 PM IST

Britain’s last coal-fired power station closes

The end of an era

A worker inspects the offline turbine hall of Ratcliffe on Soar Coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire central England on October 1, 2024. The UK�s last coal-fired power station shut down on September 30 after 60 years of looming over the small town of the same name, the closure signalled the end to polluting coal-powered electricity in the UK, in a landmark first for any G7 nation. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)(AFP)

Published on Oct 02, 2024 08:00 AM IST

The Economist

Weather Bee | Will La Nina cool winters in India?

The temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean have just turned in a direction that suggests that the winter is likely to be colder than usual. Here is how.

New Delhi, India-January 19, 2024: People are seen wearing warm clothes while going to work on a cold winter morning at South West Delhi near Kapashera, in New Delhi, India, on Friday, 19 January 2024. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Published on Sep 27, 2024 09:12 PM IST

Weather Bee | Rainfall in 2024: The twin threat of floods and droughts

HT’s analysis of global rainfall data shows a dramatic increase in both flooding potential and drought-affected regions in 2024.

HT's analysis shows that record-high January-August rain has covered the biggest proportion of the earth’s land area this year since 1979, the earliest available data(PTI photo)

Published on Sep 21, 2024 07:15 AM IST

Geothermal energy could outperform nuclear power

Tricks from the oil industry have produced a hot-rocks breakthrough

FILE - A drill rig stands at a Fervo Energy geothermal site under construction near Milford, Utah, Nov. 26, 2023. Southern California Edison will purchase electricity from Fervo Energy, Fervo announced on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)(AP)

Published on Sep 17, 2024 08:00 AM IST

The Economist

India’s plastic crisis: The hidden emissions choking the country

With emissions spiralling and health impacts mounting, the time for half-measures is over, say experts; India must confront the scale of its plastic pollution

Mumbai, India. July 26, 2024: Plastic and other waste on Mahim beach after high tides. Throughout the monsoon season, trash thrown into the sea is repeatedly washed ashore by waves from the Arabian Sea. July 26, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Published on Sep 12, 2024 06:14 PM IST

ByBadri Chatterjee

India has big renewable potential but land conflict could hamper boost: Report

India currently has an installed RE capacity of 150 GW, and up to 1,500 GW, the constraints are relatively manageable, the report said.

Workers clean solar panels after sunset at the 100 MW solar power plants operated by Ayana Renewable Power Pvt. in Tuticorin, India on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

Updated on Sep 12, 2024 06:02 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

As monsoon season nears end, skew in rainfall persists across India

The 2024 monsoon season is shaping up to be one of the wettest in over a century, with a 12% surplus over the LPA. However, not all regions are benefiting.

So far this monsoon season, Chandigarh has received 652.3 mm rain, 13.5% below normal for this period. (Ravi Kumar/ HT)(HT_PRINT)

Published on Sep 11, 2024 09:41 PM IST

Canadians are taking dramatic steps to avoid more ruinous firestorms

The focus is as much on mitigation and preparation as on suppression

A helicopter buckets water onto smouldering fires outside Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. AMBER BRACKEN/Pool via REUTERS(via REUTERS)

Published on Sep 07, 2024 08:00 AM IST

The Economist

Weather Bee | Flood-affected Gujarat, Rajasthan are becoming rainier long-term

An HT analysis of the gridded rainfall data of the IMD shows that both states are experiencing one of the rainiest monsoon seasons in recorded history.

A family wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (AP Photo)(HT_PRINT)

Published on Aug 29, 2024 08:38 PM IST