Environment News

Antarctica: A laboratory for climate change, and hope for a warming planet

Even as melting glaciers worry the scientific world, the presence in Antarctica of plants proving resistant to extreme conditions has sparked hope for a warming Earth.

Video of Rhino calf crying next to mother killed by poachers triggers grief, anger

South Africa is battling a scourge of rhino poaching fuelled by insatiable demand for their horn in Asia.

‘Wacky’ weather: Warmer Arctic, wintery blast in Europe may be linked to global warming, say scientists

Around the entire Arctic region, temperatures are now about 20C above normal. To the south, a rare snow storm hit Rome and temperature in Brussels is set to fall as low as minus 10 Celsius.

Srinagar air quality worse than Delhi’s on some days, use of coal to blame: Study

Increased usage of domestic coal during winter accounts for 84 per cent of harmful emissions, says study

Land degradation cost India 2.5% of its GDP in 2014-15

Land degradation resulted in the country incurring a loss more than 2% of the GDP for 2014-15, a draft report sponsored by the ministry of environment and conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said. “We have done a study assessing the economic impact of desertification, land degradation and drought on GDP,” JV Sharma, director, Forestry & Biodiversity Division at TERI, said.

India emerges as hotspot of pangolin trafficking to China, Southeast Asia

Pangolins are an endangered species and international trade in their parts is banned under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) treaty.

Centre notifies draft rules for use of ₹50k crore afforestation funds

When forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes like development projects, the developers must deposit funds for not just afforestation of land equal to that being deforested but also compensate for the economic value of services provided by the lost forest area for 50 years.

148,000 Borneo orangutans have died since 1999, fewer apes survive: Study

Bornean orangutans are all considered critically endangered species. Researchers predict that 45,000 more of the ginger-haired apes will be lost over the next 35 years.

21 dolphins die after dozens wash ashore on coast of Baja California Sur in Mexico

Workers attended to the dolphins and saved 33 of them, but 21 died.

Sea levels to be 2 feet higher by end of this century: Data shows effect of warming oceans

The research, based on 25 years of satellite data, shows that the pace of sea level rise has quickened, mainly from the melting of massive ice sheets.

Number of forest fires jump by 38% in 13 years but national policy still lacking

Experts believe the threat of forest fires is increasing as the soil is unable to retain moisture, with a warming climate.

Weeds threaten to strangle Narmada in Madhya Pradesh

Narmada’s showpiece, the Maheshwar Ghat in Khargone district is filled with rotting vegetation on the banks, making it difficult for hundreds of devotees to take a dip or swim

Man-eater of Yavatmal: Order given to shoot tiger that killed 10

Towns with cleanest air in India still don’t meet WHO levels: Greenpeace

The temple town of Hassan in Karnataka, hilly Pathanamthitta in Kerala and Nongstoin in the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya have the least particulate matter in air in the country.

On Republic Day, air quality data missing from most Delhi stations

Data showed that Delhi’s air quality was ‘poor’ on January 26 during the Republic Day parade, as guests squinted to catch a glimpse of the flypast on a foggy morning.

Working group formed for collaboration between science, environment ministries

The working group will meet every month and a ministry-level meeting will be held quarterly.

Wildlife Institute of India to work on contraceptives for wild animals

The Wildlife Institute of India has been asked by the Union forest ministry to focus on contraceptives for four animals -- monkeys, elephants, wild boars and blue bulls or nilgais.

2017 was fourth consecutive hottest year for India: IMD

Warming of temperatures has been a global phenomenon, with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on Thursday declaring 2017 as one of the three hottest years on record.

Air pollution-linked deaths will triple by 2050 if no action is taken: report

The report analysed three different scenarios, business as usual, ambitious and aspirational action on air pollution.

2017 was among the warmest, behind 2016: UN study

Seventeen of the warmest 18 years since records began in the 19th century have now happened since 2000.

UN hails India, China for fighting climate change

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said India and China, the two largest economies of the G77, are strongly committed to the leadership in climate action.

In next 25 years river floods to impact six times more Indians

Indians are no strangers to annual floods during monsoons when many rivers burst their banks. But now, a new study has warned that floods may increase exponentially over the next 25 years.

Mission on pollution-free firecrackers launched

Launching the mission, science and technology and environment minister Harsh Vardhan said the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is “uniquely positioned” to come up with a solution.

Parliamentary panel asks environment ministry to prevent underutilisation of pollution control funds

The panel headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma tabled its 308th report in Rajya Sabha on Thursday

Low-oxygen zones in oceans expanding, including off India’s coast

Open oceans have lost 2% of their oxygen in the second half of the 20th century. Oxygen-minimum zones in the open oceans have expanded by the size of the European Union (4.5 million sqkm).

Environment ministry misses SC deadline to notify industrial norms for oxides

The ministry told the court in October that norms for SOx and NOx for nine industries had already been notified.

Apex pollution control body does not want repeat of Sri Lanka matches fiasco during ASEAN summit

The ASEAN summit is scheduled to be held between January 19-30 in Delhi, and the heads of state of ten countries are expected to attend. They will also be part of the Republic Day celebration on January 26.

Air quality in Uttar Pradesh falls to hazardous levels

Several cities in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday faced dangerous levels of pollution after the spell of favourable meteorological conditions and a smattering of rain that led to an improvement in the air quality in Delhi ended. The change in meteorological conditions, especially the inflow of moisture carrying winds, impacted other cities in the Indo-Gangetic plain more than the national capital.

Environment ministry project will look into birth control for elephants, monkeys

The environment ministry has allocated ₹10 crore to establish labs to help meet the objective of wildlife population management. The Wildlife Institute of India will be leading the research effort on birth control.