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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Burning waste is a waste of money</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/burning-waste-is-a-waste-of-money/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/burning-waste-is-a-waste-of-money/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 16:16:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ravleen Kaur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/02130433/AP22119833098845-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Crime, Human Rights, Pollution, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Rajpal Saini retired from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, he didn’t really plan to spend his golden years battling his former employer. But a waste incineration plant commissioned near his village, by the corporation, has made his life arduous. “We have the entire waste processing mall of Delhi here — a khatta (dumping ground), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Rajpal Saini retired from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, he didn’t really plan to spend his golden years battling his former employer. But a waste incineration plant commissioned near his village, by the corporation, has made his life arduous. “We have the entire waste processing mall of Delhi here — a khatta (dumping ground), a hazardous waste disposal site, a composting plant, and a 28 megawatt (MW) waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. And as if all this were not enough, now they have imposed another one (WTE plant) on us,” said Saini, a resident of Sannoth, a village near Bawana at the northwestern edge of Delhi. “The world recognises the value of yoga and breathing in fresh air. But forget about the outdoors; we even have to seal the holes in our doors to avoid the stench. My uncle, who regularly did pranayam (breathing exercises), has been paralysed and bedridden for six years now,” Saini said, whose car is full of posters advocating for the &#8220;right to breathe&#8221;. The construction of the new 3,000 tonnes-per-day (TPD), 30-megawatt WTE plant began in May despite a case before the National Green Tribunal and residents’ protests since December 2024. Situated right next to Munak canal, a significant source of drinking water for Delhi, this new plant will be the capital’s fifth WTE, a city that produces close to 12,000 TPD of waste. The protest site against a new waste incineration plant commissioned in Sannoth, a village at the northwestern edge of Delhi. Construction began&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/burning-waste-is-a-waste-of-money/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Delhi witnesses a travesty of ecological restoration [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/delhi-witnesses-a-travesty-of-ecological-restoration-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/delhi-witnesses-a-travesty-of-ecological-restoration-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 16:10:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ankila HiremathVikram Iyer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/01141654/2_EarthMovers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38879</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecology, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Plantations, Plants, and Reforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Delhi’s Central Ridge, a mosaic of forest and open savannah with patches dominated by species such as dhok (Terminalia pendula), is a landscape that would be a rare gem anywhere. The location of this remnant of the ancient Aravallis — spanning a little over 850 hectares in the heart of a sprawling urban metropolis — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Delhi’s Central Ridge, a mosaic of forest and open savannah with patches dominated by species such as dhok (Terminalia pendula), is a landscape that would be a rare gem anywhere. The location of this remnant of the ancient Aravallis — spanning a little over 850 hectares in the heart of a sprawling urban metropolis — makes it even more special. Yet, for over a century, it has remained misunderstood and misconstrued. In the early 20th century, the planners of New Delhi sought to create a forested backdrop for the Government House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan). Successive waves of tree planting were carried out, but very few of the introduced trees survived because they were poorly suited to local conditions. The exception was the South American tree Neltuma juliflora (formerly Prosopis juliflora). Better known as vilayati keekar, it is now a widespread invasive alien tree across arid and semi-arid regions of India. Since its introduction to the Central Ridge, it has come to dominate the landscape, along with other invasive species such as gaajar ghaas (Parthenium hysterophorus), lantana (Lantana camara), and subabool (Leucaena leucocephala), which arrived more recently. Delhi&#8217;s Central Ridge in the dry season. Invasive plant species dominate the 850 hectares in the heart of the capital city. Image by Pradip Krishen. What are invasive alien species? Invasive alien species must meet two criteria. First, they must be non-native to a region. Typically, these are species intentionally introduced by people, though some introductions occur inadvertently. In India, many non-native plants originated&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/delhi-witnesses-a-travesty-of-ecological-restoration-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A carbon garden reimagines urban greenery</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-carbon-garden-reimagines-urban-greenery/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-carbon-garden-reimagines-urban-greenery/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 12:17:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shweta Thakur Nanda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban forest]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/26093407/1-Delhi-University_s-carbon-garden-Pic-Prof.-Dinabandhu-Sahoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38816</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conserving Agro-biodiversity]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon Offset, Carbon Sequestration, Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Forests, Plants, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ginkgo biloba, popularly known as a “living fossil”, is among the oldest living tree species on Earth, with a lineage that dates back nearly 290 million years. The sole surviving member of an ancient group of trees that existed long before dinosaurs roamed the planet, it now stands witness to a new initiative in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ginkgo biloba, popularly known as a “living fossil”, is among the oldest living tree species on Earth, with a lineage that dates back nearly 290 million years. The sole surviving member of an ancient group of trees that existed long before dinosaurs roamed the planet, it now stands witness to a new initiative in a quiet corner of Delhi University’s North Campus: the Carbon Garden. The Carbon Garden is not an ornamental green space; it is designed as an ecological intervention — a living system engineered to filter pollutants, sequester carbon and restore ecological balance in urban landscapes. At a time when cities such as Delhi are grappling with worsening air quality, the garden aims to offer a nature-based approach to mitigating pollution. Developed over three years, it houses a mix of plant species, including hydrophytes that thrive in water, xerophytes adapted to arid conditions, mesophytes that flourish in moderate environments, and ancient plant groups such as pteridophytes and bryophytes. The Carbon Garden has a mix of tree types, ranging from fast growing trees such as casuarina to native canopy builders such as kadamba or burflower trees. They are complemented by ground cover plants and shrubs as well as micro-organisms such as algae, bacteria and fungi. “The careful selection of plant categories play a vital role in maximising carbon sequestration,” says Professor Dinabandhu Sahoo, Head of the Department, Botany, at the university. “Microorganisms living on plant surfaces help break down toxic gases such as methane and carbon monoxide, converting them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-carbon-garden-reimagines-urban-greenery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The wilderness story of a bustling, expanding capital [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-wilderness-story-of-a-bustling-expanding-capital-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-wilderness-story-of-a-bustling-expanding-capital-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 12:38:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban trees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban wetlands]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/20093255/hornbill-pair-flowers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37746</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Cities and Towns, Conservation, Plants, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For many Delhi residents, who, like me, have lived in India’s capital for 50 to 60 years and watched with consternation the desecration of the city — its green lungs and open spaces taken over by multi-storeyed buildings, its once elegant rivers turned into muddy cesspools, and garbage dumps replacing sprightly flowering and fruiting trees [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For many Delhi residents, who, like me, have lived in India’s capital for 50 to 60 years and watched with consternation the desecration of the city — its green lungs and open spaces taken over by multi-storeyed buildings, its once elegant rivers turned into muddy cesspools, and garbage dumps replacing sprightly flowering and fruiting trees — it is difficult to believe that a &#8220;wild&#8221; capital still exists. But that is precisely what Neha Sinha, a journalist turned conservation biologist, sets out to showcase in her latest book, Wild Capital – Discovering Nature in Delhi. It’s a deeply personal book as she takes you through the hidden wilderness of the bustling city. She weaves ecological history, wild creatures, trees that she loves, discovers centuries old sacred groves, bird songs and fire flies that still flash their lights in the dead of night in forgotten forest tracks. Even as a young child, Sinha reflects that she did not like playing with “dead” dolls. She preferred living playmates: ants, bright-eyed birds, a mongoose, squirrels, millipedes and other wild creatures that lived in the garden of her home in North Delhi. She would talk to them and join in their game of hide-and-seek. She also loved and played with plants, the touch-me-not mimosa, whose leaves closed if she touched them. There were trees that she grew up with and learnt their value. The neem twigs were used to clean teeth and the concoction of crushed neem leaves and honey that her mother made served&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-wilderness-story-of-a-bustling-expanding-capital-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study suggests air pollution may harbour drug-resistant bacteria</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-suggests-air-pollution-may-harbour-drug-resistant-bacteria/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-suggests-air-pollution-may-harbour-drug-resistant-bacteria/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 13:16:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aisiri Amin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[antimicrobial resistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delhi air pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug-resistant bacteria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PM 2.5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WHO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Health Organization]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/17093631/AP23311234399476-scaled-e1773720792853-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37301</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution and Health impacts]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every year, Delhi&#8217;s air quality hits a new record for severe pollution, putting millions of residents at familiar and emerging health risks. Data on particulate matter, dust, and vehicular emissions are shared and dominate conversations. But new research emphasises the need to look beyond the usual chemical pollutants. Airborne microbial contamination, especially antibiotic-resistant bacteria, is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every year, Delhi&#8217;s air quality hits a new record for severe pollution, putting millions of residents at familiar and emerging health risks. Data on particulate matter, dust, and vehicular emissions are shared and dominate conversations. But new research emphasises the need to look beyond the usual chemical pollutants. Airborne microbial contamination, especially antibiotic-resistant bacteria, is a rising concern that has so far flown under the radar. A new study, published in Scientific Reports, analysed indoor and outdoor air samples from various urban settings in Delhi and found significantly higher levels of Staphylococcus, a group of bacteria commonly associated with multidrug resistance. &#8220;When we talk about air pollution, we typically measure parameters such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5, lead, and others,&#8221; says Madhuri Singh, a research scientist in the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and corresponding author of the study. &#8220;However, microbial load should also be considered as an additional parameter, as it is equally important from a public health perspective.&#8221; The link between antimicrobial resistance and air pollution is not new; the science is well established, and the evidence is clear. However, this particular study is an important addition to the existing research as it uses data from Delhi, one of the cities that battles severe air pollution year after year, to show this link, says Sarah Hyder Iqbal, researcher and co-founder of Superheroes Against Superbugs, a community for awareness and action against antimicrobial resistance. Smog over New Delhi. A new study analysed air samples&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-suggests-air-pollution-may-harbour-drug-resistant-bacteria/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India’s new waste management rules face old implementation gaps</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/indias-new-waste-management-rules-face-old-implementation-gaps-in-the-capital/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/indias-new-waste-management-rules-face-old-implementation-gaps-in-the-capital/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2026 14:45:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jyotsnika Tiwari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industrial waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solid waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toxic Waste Materials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste-to-energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/06124304/AP20210450913024-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37176</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biofuels, Carbon emissions, Energy, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Pollution, Renewable Energy, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s environment ministry notified the new solid waste management (SWM) rules of 2026 on January 27, superseding the 2016 rules. The new rules signal a shift towards a more systematic compliance architecture, with a clearer outline of duties for waste generators, a revised definition of Bulk Waste Generators, and higher landfill user fees for mixed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s environment ministry notified the new solid waste management (SWM) rules of 2026 on January 27, superseding the 2016 rules. The new rules signal a shift towards a more systematic compliance architecture, with a clearer outline of duties for waste generators, a revised definition of Bulk Waste Generators, and higher landfill user fees for mixed waste to encourage segregation. Well-intentioned as the new rules are, experts caution against gaps in implementation that have dogged solid waste management in India for decades. Illustrating this are the towering landfills in New Delhi — Bhalaswa, Ghazipur and Okhla — symbols of the city’s historical failure to segregate waste at source. Delhi leads all Indian cities, generating approximately 600 grams of waste per person per day. Nearly 64% of the collected waste is processed, according to the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB), while the remaining 36% or. 4,241 tonnes, find its way to unsanitary landfills, or dumpsites everyday. These landfills and dumpsites are silent contributors to air pollution through the year as well as to greenhouse gas emissions and heat stress during the summers. Biomass and waste burning are the second largest contributors to particulate matter emissions in Delhi, contributing 23% to PM10 and 24% to PM2.5, according to one source apportionment study. When biodegradable waste accumulates and is left to rot, it produces methane, which has a warming potential 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, over a 20-year-period, and is the second-largest contributor to global warming. According to another study, higher&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/indias-new-waste-management-rules-face-old-implementation-gaps-in-the-capital/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Pollution concentrations soar higher above ground during haze</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2026 14:51:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aerosol chemistry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality modelling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality monitoring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atmospheric science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundary layer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delhi air pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drone monitoring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high-rise exposure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[particulate matter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PM2.5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution forecasting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secondary aerosols]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban air pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vertical pollution profile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[winter haze]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/03142922/AP25314257198720-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Innovations and Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Coal, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Pollution, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On hazy winter mornings in Delhi, the air people breathe at street level may not tell the full story. A new peer-reviewed study published in Nature npj Clean Air reports that PM2.5 concentrations were up to 60% higher at around 100 metres above ground compared to surface levels during severe haze episodes. The findings suggest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On hazy winter mornings in Delhi, the air people breathe at street level may not tell the full story. A new peer-reviewed study published in Nature npj Clean Air reports that PM2.5 concentrations were up to 60% higher at around 100 metres above ground compared to surface levels during severe haze episodes. The findings suggest that pollution can accumulate not only near roads and traffic corridors, but also higher up at an altitude where many residents and office workers in high-rise buildings spend much of their time. Using a custom-built drone equipped with low-cost particulate matter sensors, researchers conducted multiple flights over South Delhi in March 2021. On one hazy morning, PM2.5 levels reached around 160 micrograms per cubic metre at 100 metres, compared to roughly 100 micrograms per cubic metre at ground level. Ajit Ahlawat, Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology and lead author of the study said about the finding, “This indicates that ground-based monitoring alone substantially underestimates actual exposure to pollution in the lower urban boundary layer, especially during haze episodes.” Traditional air quality monitors typically measure pollutants around five to ten metres above the ground. “This misses vertical gradients in shallow nocturnal boundary layers that trap pollutants aloft,” Ahlawat said, referring to the different heights in the layer of air close to the ground that forms at night which can go up to 300 metres or higher. He added that hygroscopic particle growth, where particles absorb moisture and grow, and secondary aerosol formation often occur&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>What India can learn from China&#8217;s approach to improving air quality [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-can-india-learn-from-chinas-approach-to-improve-air-quality-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-can-india-learn-from-chinas-approach-to-improve-air-quality-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jan 2026 16:11:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tanushree Ganguly]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commission for air quality management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vehicles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zero Emission Truck]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/14153712/AP25313456036449-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36469</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[I spent my winter break in Kolkata this year. Although I have worked on air pollution for nearly eight years, this was the first time my parents and neighbours remarked that they were relieved I had escaped Delhi’s toxic air. In previous years, their concern had always been whether I could cope with Delhi’s bitter [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[I spent my winter break in Kolkata this year. Although I have worked on air pollution for nearly eight years, this was the first time my parents and neighbours remarked that they were relieved I had escaped Delhi’s toxic air. In previous years, their concern had always been whether I could cope with Delhi’s bitter winter cold. This year felt different, not just because of how bad the air was, but because the crisis was impossible to ignore. Delhi’s citizens took to the streets to demand action on clean air, and social media was abuzz with reels and memes on pollution. December, despite the drop in farm fires, turned out to be more polluted than October and November. In the midst of all this, as Delhi was grappling with severe pollution levels in mid-December, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in India took to X (formerly Twitter) to offer help, sharing how China cleaned up its pollution. This, in turn, triggered a series of articles by air pollution experts in India, asking: China could clean up its air, why can’t India? Almost all of them point to the same set of measures — coal caps, industrial shutdowns, tighter vehicle emission standards, and the scrapping of older vehicles — adopted under China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan launched in 2013. And rightly so. Since 2013, China’s particulate pollution levels have declined by nearly 40%. We at the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) estimate that this improvement could potentially help&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-can-india-learn-from-chinas-approach-to-improve-air-quality-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>People are leaving cities to escape toxic air</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/toxic-air-pushing-people-to-migrate-from-cities/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/toxic-air-pushing-people-to-migrate-from-cities/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jan 2026 14:48:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shweta Thakur Nanda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate-induced migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stubble burning]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/07123604/AP25349222525857-scaled-e1767770149493-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36364</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Cities and Towns, Environment, Health impacts, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Air quality did not enter Amitabh Chawla’s life as a statistic; it arrived as grief. By the time his mother died in 2024, eight years after his father, the Gurugram-based multimedia professional had started seeing air pollution as a generational toll. “My grandparents lived into their 90s. My teetotaller parents did not make it past [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Air quality did not enter Amitabh Chawla’s life as a statistic; it arrived as grief. By the time his mother died in 2024, eight years after his father, the Gurugram-based multimedia professional had started seeing air pollution as a generational toll. “My grandparents lived into their 90s. My teetotaller parents did not make it past their 60s. The difference, I believe, is the air,” says Chawla, 44. “Somehow, a fear has seeped into me that if we continue to breathe this poisonous air, it is going to take a toll on my family and me. For a generation that grew up in a polluted environment, I don’t think our bodies can endure for long.” Over the past two years, this concern has changed how the Chawlas live. Summers are spent at their ancestral home in Dugri village, Ludhiana, Punjab, away from Haryana’s Gurugram, a thriving business destination home to multinational corporations, manufacturing clusters, IT firms, and startups, among others. When the stubble-burning season begins around September and air quality starts to deteriorate in North India, the family rents a house away from the region, such as in the coastal town of Puri in Odisha, for weeks. “For the last two years, we have been living like nomads to escape pollution,” says Amitabh Chawla, who is currently in Puri, a coastal town known for its long stretches of greenery, pristine beaches, and Lord Jagannath Temple. To overcome this ordeal, the family is now exploring permanently shifting to an East Asian country,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/toxic-air-pushing-people-to-migrate-from-cities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The Aravalli mountains, an ecological asset under threat [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-aravalli-mountains-an-ecological-asset-under-threat-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-aravalli-mountains-an-ecological-asset-under-threat-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2025 09:00:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[C.P. Rajendran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aravallis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountains]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/26135332/1_Aravalli_Range_in_Rajasthan_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36261</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Stretching approximately 700 km across the Indian states of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, the Aravalli mountain range is a spectacular geomorphic feature in northwestern India. It forms a distinct central ridge, with the Thar Desert to its west and the Malwa Plateau to its east and serves as the source for rivers including the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stretching approximately 700 km across the Indian states of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, the Aravalli mountain range is a spectacular geomorphic feature in northwestern India. It forms a distinct central ridge, with the Thar Desert to its west and the Malwa Plateau to its east and serves as the source for rivers including the Banas, Luni, Sakhi, and Sabarmati. Its highest peak is Guru Shikhar, which rises to 1,722 meters near Mount Abu in Rajasthan. Historically, the western and eastern regions of the Aravallis gave rise to the distinct cultural domains of Marwar and Mewar, from which the Marwari and Mewari communities originate. India’s Rashtrapati Bhavan, situated on Raisina Hill, is part of the Aravalli ranges. The Aravallis are not only the subcontinent&#8217;s most ancient mountain chain but also preserve a remarkably continuous, three-billion-year (3 Ga) record of Precambrian evolution (approximately 3.6 to 0.6 billion years). This history is encapsulated in three major chrono-stratigraphic (rock layers based on their relative age) terranes (a block of Earth’s crust bounded by geological faults): the Basement Banded Gneissic Complex, the Aravalli Supergroup, and the Delhi Supergroup. Each terrane possesses a distinct history of craton (crust) formation, development of depressions, deformation, movement of molten rocks, transformation into new rock types, and concentration of economically valuable minerals. Thus, formed during the Proterozoic Eon (2.5 to 0.5 billion years), the Aravalli mountain belt is Earth’s oldest surviving mountain system—a geological relic distinct from the nearby, much younger Himalayas. It reflects some of the planet’s earliest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-aravalli-mountains-an-ecological-asset-under-threat-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Air pollution is the silent enemy of Indian monuments</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 13:14:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shilpa Raina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heritage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/22221939/9272192605_54f9ad8624_k-e1766467839971-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36204</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Coal, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The implications of air pollution on health, education and work productivity dominate the headlines every winter, when air quality levels deteriorate to hazardous levels over north India. However, new research reveals that these pollutants are also slowly corroding the symbols of our past and putting our heritage at risk. In a scientific study on the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The implications of air pollution on health, education and work productivity dominate the headlines every winter, when air quality levels deteriorate to hazardous levels over north India. However, new research reveals that these pollutants are also slowly corroding the symbols of our past and putting our heritage at risk. In a scientific study on the Red Fort, scientists have found that chemical interactions between pollutants and the monument’s stone surface are slowly destroying its distinctive red façade and turning it black. It confirms what was already known about how pollution chips away at a monument’s integrity, when it was discovered decades ago that pollution was behind the Taj Mahal’s changing appearance. Despite protections, this “wonder of the world” continues to find itself in the news for foul smells and its marble turning green. The Red Fort has been a lasting political symbol and has served as the backdrop of every Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech since 1947. But political will is failing to save the fort — and hundreds of other monuments in the region — from the ill-effects of air pollution. The Red Fort study is the first to attribute the formation of black crusts on its surface to emissions from cement factories, thermal power plants, and vehicles. “Indian monuments are already losing their settings because of rampant encroachment and unauthorised construction. It&#8217;s sad to see policymakers believe there is a Planet B. Otherwise, there would have been some concrete measures to reduce air pollution,” says Abha Narain Lambah,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Air pollution smothers productivity</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-smothers-productivity/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-smothers-productivity/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Dec 2025 14:14:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shweta Thakur Nanda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/08125053/AP24318201417490-crop-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35932</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health impacts, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At 8.30 a.m. on a November morning, a thick smog hangs in the air as commuters, mostly office-goers and college students, surge into Noida’s Botanical Garden metro station. The Delhi Metro train pulls out of the platform, cutting through the grey haze. Inside the coach, the chatter around work, air pollution and its impact on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At 8.30 a.m. on a November morning, a thick smog hangs in the air as commuters, mostly office-goers and college students, surge into Noida’s Botanical Garden metro station. The Delhi Metro train pulls out of the platform, cutting through the grey haze. Inside the coach, the chatter around work, air pollution and its impact on productivity is punctuated by intermittent chains of coughing and sniffling. “Within 10-15 minutes of my daily commute, my eyes start burning due to the pollution. By the time I reach office, I feel exhausted. My focus is down and I am unable to give my best,” says Vanshika Bindal, a 22-year-old AI solution delivery associate at an IT firm, who regularly travels via metro between Noida and Delhi. According to the open-source air quality monitoring platform AQI, Delhi’s AQI level was hovering between 198-554 in the third week of November. The AQI levels in the neighbouring NCR cities were even worse, with Ghaziabad recording 220-663, and Noida 213-636. While different indices may interpret data differently, typically an AQI reading above 300 is considered hazardous, which affects even healthy people and can seriously impact those with existing health issues. “Each time the city’s AQI dips into the ‘poor’ zone, my respiratory issues flare up,” says Parul Juyal, who works in a Noida-based education consultancy, glancing at the smog-heavy Delhi–Noida skyline. “Even when my office allows me to work from home, the coughing and recurring infections slow me down. I simply can’t perform at my usual pace.”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-smothers-productivity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>The lab-field disconnect in the capital&#8217;s pollution crisis [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-lab-field-disconnect-in-the-capitals-pollution-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-lab-field-disconnect-in-the-capitals-pollution-crisis-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2025 17:17:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rajeev Kumar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industrial pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stubble burning]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/01150316/Old_Delhi_city_skyline_from_Jama_Masjid_Delhi_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35831</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health impacts, Pollution, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The post-Diwali 2025 pollution season in India’s National Capital Region (NCR) and its adjoining regions — home to several tens of millions of people — became a stark display of misplaced science and technology (S&#38;T) management. Every winter, India’s chronic air pollution crisis returns, with smog choking cities across northern India, particularly in the NCR [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The post-Diwali 2025 pollution season in India’s National Capital Region (NCR) and its adjoining regions — home to several tens of millions of people — became a stark display of misplaced science and technology (S&amp;T) management. Every winter, India’s chronic air pollution crisis returns, with smog choking cities across northern India, particularly in the NCR and adjoining areas. While pollution remains high year-round due to construction dust, industrial and vehicular emissions, and other seasonal sources, winter meteorological conditions — characterised by cold air, moisture, and slow winds — trap pollutants and significantly exacerbate the situation. The much-hyped cloud seeding, as an approach to control pollution, failed due to inadequate applicable knowledge in cloud science. Similarly, other so-called solutions, such as the use of “green” prefixes, were neither genuinely green nor effectively regulated. Together, these exposed a deeper institutional gap between scientific validation and field execution, compounded by the lead role given to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, which lacks core expertise in atmospheric sciences. Technologies intended for public welfare demand scientific credibility, contextual feasibility, rigorous testing, and well-defined standard operating procedures. When governance and accountability erode within science and technology leadership, environmental crises turn into repetitive experiments that are costly in outcome and corrosive to public trust. Construction in Delhi. The region&#8217;s pollution levels remain high year-round due to construction dust, industrial and vehicular emissions, while winter meteorological conditions trap pollutants and significantly exacerbate the situation. Representative image by YellowFratello via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Context and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-lab-field-disconnect-in-the-capitals-pollution-crisis-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Cloud seeding not a proven solution for air pollution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cloud-seeding-not-a-proven-solution-for-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cloud-seeding-not-a-proven-solution-for-air-pollution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Nov 2025 17:04:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aisiri Amin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/26144708/Poulluted_killer_fog_in_Delhi-e1764148952293-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the Hype and Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Cities and Towns, Environment, Health impacts, Industry, Pollution, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In October, as a dense smog enveloped India’s capital city, New Delhi, and the air quality reached hazardous levels, the Delhi government, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), turned to cloud seeding, a disputed weather-modification technique to induce artificial rain. Using IIT-K’s aircraft, flares containing seeding agents were released into the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October, as a dense smog enveloped India’s capital city, New Delhi, and the air quality reached hazardous levels, the Delhi government, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), turned to cloud seeding, a disputed weather-modification technique to induce artificial rain. Using IIT-K’s aircraft, flares containing seeding agents were released into the atmosphere. But the experiment didn’t lead to precipitation because of a lack of moisture in the air. Cloud seeding doesn’t create clouds but works on existing clouds and moisture. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT-K, told Mongabay-India that the team knew the chances of precipitation were low because the moisture content was below 15%, significantly less than the much-needed 50%. However, they went ahead with the experiment as a way to collect data on cloud seeding’s impact on air pollution levels. “We aimed to study the relationship between moisture content, the amount of seeding material used, and its impact on local conditions. Even if no rain occurred, we wanted to know whether humidity levels increased and, if so, whether that helped reduce pollution and to what extent,” he explained. In a statement, IIT-K said that there was a reduction of 6-10% in particulate matter. The claim and the experiment itself has been disputed by other experts. Over the years, cloud seeding has been constantly proposed as a way to curb Delhi’s pollution. Although this cloud seeding experiment in Delhi was conducted after about 52 years, previous governments have also discussed it as an option to mitigate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cloud-seeding-not-a-proven-solution-for-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Street dogs in the spotlight as rabies eradication deadline comes closer</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/street-dogs-in-the-spotlight-as-rabies-eradication-deadline-comes-closer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/street-dogs-in-the-spotlight-as-rabies-eradication-deadline-comes-closer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2025 16:55:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animal behaviour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animal welfare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free ranging dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rabies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court of India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Health Organisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/02101232/Stray-dog-in-Kolkata-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34443</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour and Animals]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For several days in August, street dogs displaced politics and cricket in Indian news headlines. The trigger was the Supreme Court&#8217;s orders, which reignited the debate about managing the street dog population, a significant conversation in light of the upcoming 2030 deadline for India to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies, under a national action plan. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For several days in August, street dogs displaced politics and cricket in Indian news headlines. The trigger was the Supreme Court&#8217;s orders, which reignited the debate about managing the street dog population, a significant conversation in light of the upcoming 2030 deadline for India to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies, under a national action plan. The order of August 11, taking suo motu cognisance of a child&#8217;s death caused by dogs, directed stray dogs to be picked up from the National Capital Region (NCR) and relocated to shelters. The court directed that these dogs be sterilised, dewormed, and vaccinated in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023 and they cannot be released back onto the streets. Intense debate, including criticism, around the order, followed. About two weeks later, on August 22, a three-judge bench termed the earlier ruling “too harsh” and revised it. The bench ordered that stray dogs be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and then released back to the same areas. Municipal bodies were asked to create designated feeding spaces for stray dogs in every ward. The bench emphasised the need for a balanced approach within the framework of the ABC Rules, 2023. A cow and a stray dog on a Delhi street. An estimated 62 million stray dogs live in India, many unsterilised and unvaccinated. Image by Jakub Hałun via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0). A long-standing issue Concerns about free-ranging dogs in India are not new. Mahatma Gandhi once wrote in the Young India magazine, about a century ago,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/street-dogs-in-the-spotlight-as-rabies-eradication-deadline-comes-closer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>How informal workers made weather warnings more effective this summer</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-informal-workers-made-weather-warnings-more-effective-this-summer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-informal-workers-made-weather-warnings-more-effective-this-summer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jul 2025 13:55:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anuja]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/22133528/Aslam-Khan-next-to-the-heat-alert-board-showing-different-colour-coded-options-ANUJA-1-scaled-e1753171624432-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33711</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Global Warming, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a hot June afternoon, Aslam Khan, a street vendor in Delhi, directed curious tourists and fellow informal workers towards a yellow-coloured board installed next to his garment cart. The board read ‘Asahaj Garmi’ (uncomfortable heat) in Hindi with a large ‘hot face’ emoji plastered on it. Alongside the emoji were to-dos, health precautions, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a hot June afternoon, Aslam Khan, a street vendor in Delhi, directed curious tourists and fellow informal workers towards a yellow-coloured board installed next to his garment cart. The board read ‘Asahaj Garmi’ (uncomfortable heat) in Hindi with a large ‘hot face’ emoji plastered on it. Alongside the emoji were to-dos, health precautions, and a brief write-up of the weather. “Five years ago, I had not even heard the term climate change. And now, I am raising awareness of the day’s weather among other workers,” said Khan while sitting at his cart in the Meena Bazaar market in front of the historic Jama Masjid. “Tourists passing by the cart often click a photo of the board. Lots of workers read it. Those who cannot read, ask us for the details,” he added. These colour-coded boards were launched on June 12 by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as part of a collaboration with informal worker organisations and the non-profit Greenpeace India, to improve weather warning systems. Workers such as Khan call themselves &#8220;climate messengers&#8221;, who bear the essential task of amplifying information that could help passers-by cope with extreme heat. Aravind Unni, a Delhi-based urban practitioner and researcher, said informal workers are in an “information black hole” when it comes to the impacts of heat stress. “Information sharing in a more publicly accessible manner can be very empowering and can support workers to act better. It’s the very first step of building resilience for such groups,“ he said. Aslam Khan,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-informal-workers-made-weather-warnings-more-effective-this-summer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Weather forecasting improves but access remains uneven for farmers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/weather-forecasting-improves-but-access-remains-uneven-for-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/weather-forecasting-improves-but-access-remains-uneven-for-farmers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2025 14:02:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rituparna Palit]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crop loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forecast]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/27095653/pic-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33358</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Science, Extreme Weather Events, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was a hot morning in east Delhi’s Samaspur, a village on the Yamuna floodplains. Ram Nivas and his wife Rekha were busy sorting the green beans they had plucked from their field. Two more farmers joined to help the couple who were in a hurry. “I need to finish and get these to the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was a hot morning in east Delhi’s Samaspur, a village on the Yamuna floodplains. Ram Nivas and his wife Rekha were busy sorting the green beans they had plucked from their field. Two more farmers joined to help the couple who were in a hurry. “I need to finish and get these to the mandi (market),” said Nivas, bundling the produce on his head. Asked why the rush, the 40-year-old farmer said, “It’s better to sell the produce at the earliest possible, given the unpredictable weather. I don’t know when it might start raining and I will lose all that I harvested.” On the intervening night of May 24-25, severe rainfall with hail and winds clocking 82 km/hour wreaked havoc in Delhi. Like the rest of the city, Nivas too was caught off guard and ended up losing six bighas (3.7 acres) of his farm produce — spinach planted in 2.5 bighas and the rest cucumber, which he had hoped to cash in this summer. Nivas, who works on six acres of farmland, has been farming since his teenage but saving his crops from erratic weather continues to be a challenge. Satbir Singh, 60, a third-generation farmer from the same village could not protect his harvest as well. “I lost all the corn that I had grown in five bighas (3.1 acres). Had I got two weeks more, I would have been able to harvest the crop,” Singh lamented. &#8220;Unseasonal rainfall not only destroys crops but also washes away&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/weather-forecasting-improves-but-access-remains-uneven-for-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Urban green spaces can save more lives if placed right</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/urban-green-spaces-can-save-more-lives-if-placed-right/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/urban-green-spaces-can-save-more-lives-if-placed-right/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2025 10:00:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C40]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green cover]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/15152131/Lodhi_Garden_Delhi_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33136</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Health impacts, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In July 2021, mayors of 31 cities belonging to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group committed to increasing green (e.g. parks and trees) and blue (e.g. rivers and lakes) spaces to tackle the climate crisis. Signatories of the C40 Urban Nature Accelerator committed to two crucial goals for 2030 — quality total cover, specifically for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In July 2021, mayors of 31 cities belonging to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group committed to increasing green (e.g. parks and trees) and blue (e.g. rivers and lakes) spaces to tackle the climate crisis. Signatories of the C40 Urban Nature Accelerator committed to two crucial goals for 2030 — quality total cover, specifically for the green or permeable spaces to occupy 30-40% of the total built-up city area, and equitable spatial distribution which includes blue or green space access for 70% of the population. Four years since the declaration, at about the halfway mark to the 2030 deadline, a research paper published in the Lancet Planet Health journal has assessed the health impacts of the progress towards the Urban Nature Accelerator targets in C40 cities. “Many cities are aiming to increase green spaces to improve climate resiliency and population health,” Greta K. Martin, one of the paper&#8217;s authors and a postdoctoral associate at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, said. “Urban green spaces help improve health by creating spaces to exercise and gather with friends and family, reducing air, heat, and noise pollution, and reducing stress and anxiety.” While prior health impact assessments have reported the associated health benefits of hypothetical increases in green spaces, their research “estimated annual avoided deaths across the 96 C40 member cities in terms of their incremental progress towards Urban Nature Accelerator targets,” Martin said. Where you add green spaces matter The study assessed 96 C40&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/urban-green-spaces-can-save-more-lives-if-placed-right/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>From decay to delight as locals bring an urban waterbody back to life</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/from-decay-to-delight-as-locals-bring-hauz-i-shamsi-back-to-life/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/from-decay-to-delight-as-locals-bring-hauz-i-shamsi-back-to-life/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2025 13:45:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nidhi Jamwal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Climate Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city lake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ponds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban Heat Island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban lakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Water bodies]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/03091650/Zaida-Zehra-with-her-daughter-looking-at-Hauz-i-Shamsi-their-urban-common-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32885</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Eco Hope and Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Water and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Located in the historic neighbourhood of Mehrauli, is the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a reservoir dating back to 1230 CE. It was built by the third sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, Shamsuddin Iltutmish of what is referred to as the Slave Dynasty. Every year, this ancient water body stands as a silent witness to the Phool Walon Ki [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Located in the historic neighbourhood of Mehrauli, is the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a reservoir dating back to 1230 CE. It was built by the third sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, Shamsuddin Iltutmish of what is referred to as the Slave Dynasty. Every year, this ancient water body stands as a silent witness to the Phool Walon Ki Sair festival at the adjoining Jahaz Mahal, which is decorated with fresh flowers to celebrate the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture). For the rest of the year, it brings joy to many people who live around it in homes that stand cheek-by-jowl in the narrow, serpentine lanes of Mehrauli in South Delhi. “Every morning when I wake up and step out on the balcony of our house, I see the jhilmil [sparkling] water of our Shamsi talab. Sunrays dance on it, which is a beautiful sight,” Zaida Zehra told Mongabay India. Zaida’s home, where she lives with her husband and two school-going daughters, is in Ward 8, overlooking the lake. She is from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and moved to Mehrauli 18 years ago after marriage. But the waterbody was not always a sight for sore eyes, said Zaida. Hauz-i-Shamsi (a sunny water tank) is a protected site under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It was constructed to collect rainwater and provide drinking water and respite from the blazing summer heat to the medieval inhabitants of Mehrauli. But over time, it became a dirty, smelly drain filled with garbage and wastewater. “Until about two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/from-decay-to-delight-as-locals-bring-hauz-i-shamsi-back-to-life/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Tiny textile scraps turn into luxury fashion</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/tiny-textile-scraps-turn-into-luxury-fashion/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/tiny-textile-scraps-turn-into-luxury-fashion/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Apr 2025 15:19:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shweta Thakur Nanda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[circular fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[textiles]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/21110059/5-Workers-in-designer-Payal-Jain_s-factory-making-garments-out-of-katran-photo-credit-Payal-Jain-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32276</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Industry, Sustainability, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While passing by tailoring shops in pockets of Delhi, one can see colourful mosaics of fabric remnants strewn on their floors and in the by-lanes, lying in near disgrace. Generally, these vibrant fabric shards, known as katran, pile up through the day and are tossed carelessly out onto the roads, dustbins or drains, and are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[While passing by tailoring shops in pockets of Delhi, one can see colourful mosaics of fabric remnants strewn on their floors and in the by-lanes, lying in near disgrace. Generally, these vibrant fabric shards, known as katran, pile up through the day and are tossed carelessly out onto the roads, dustbins or drains, and are forgotten. Now, instead of discarding these remnant fabric bits, some fashion designers in India are gathering the scraps carefully in their factories, arranging them like puzzle pieces, crafting intricate patterns, unique textures and creating responsible luxury collections as proof that fashion’s sustainable future can be stitched from its own past. Some designers are even collecting scraps from tailors upon understanding the value of these tiny cloth remnants, their cost effectiveness and how they can contribute to reducing textile waste. “I am simply fascinated by katran. As soon as I look at it, patterns and designs intuitively start forming in my mind. During a recent leisure trip to Dharamshala, I collected katran from a local tailoring shop and brought it back to my workshop,” says Ahmedabad-based designer Kavisha Parikh. Creating clothes from such tiny fabrics is both time- and labour-intensive. Unlike normal fabric bolts, katran comes in random designs, shapes, hues, textures and sizes. Repurposing these fabrics needs innovation and creativity. Since luxury products are bespoke, production at scale may not be required. Katran, or fabric scraps, being stitched to make a pattern. Scraps that were once disposed of carelessly in landfills are now increasingly being&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/tiny-textile-scraps-turn-into-luxury-fashion/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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