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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/human-rights/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:31:30 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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				<item>
					<title>The emotional cost of displacement</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-emotional-cost-of-displacement/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-emotional-cost-of-displacement/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 12:01:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi M.R.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Displacement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/10/09093557/7-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41519</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Making Waves]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arabian Sea and Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Coast, Coastal erosion, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Fishing, Floods, Health impacts, Human Rights, Oceans, People, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“This was our home,” says 43-year-old Baby Titus, pointing to a green-painted house secured with a rusty lock. Waves were repeatedly crashing on the right side of the house. “The sea kept entering and receding, and it caused a short circuit inside the house. You would get an electric shock wherever you touched.” A road [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“This was our home,” says 43-year-old Baby Titus, pointing to a green-painted house secured with a rusty lock. Waves were repeatedly crashing on the right side of the house. “The sea kept entering and receding, and it caused a short circuit inside the house. You would get an electric shock wherever you touched.” A road past Kollamkode Church in Thiruvananthapuram leads to the Arabian Sea, where rows of houses like Titus’s line the shoreline. Many houses here have been engulfed by the sea. The remains of those houses, along with the granite boulders dumped into the sea for a seawall, are constantly battered by the waves, each surge crashing against them with a frightening roar. Kulathoor grama panchayat is the southernmost grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala. Its coastal wards, including Pozhipallivilakam, Mullassery, Kollamkode, Paruthiyoor, Pozhikara Beach and Pozhiyoor, have been facing severe coastal erosion for decades. Many of these wards have only seven or eight rows of houses remaining, out of about 100. Of those that remain, only a few are inhabited. Fearing the house was structurally precarious and hence, unsafe, Baby Titus now lives in a rented two-bedroom house next door with her husband and three adolescent children, paying ₹2,000 a month. The house’s owners have moved elsewhere due to flooding. Baby Titus spends the night listening anxiously to the sound of every crashing wave, wondering whether the sea is coming in — a reality shared by the families living along the coast. Baby Titus&#8217;s coastal home&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-emotional-cost-of-displacement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-emotional-cost-of-displacement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A changing climate is reshaping India’s infectious disease risks</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-changing-climate-is-reshaping-indias-infectious-disease-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-changing-climate-is-reshaping-indias-infectious-disease-risks/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 11:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rupsy Khurana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment and health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pathogens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zoonoses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zoonotic disease]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/10/08104600/AP26222296060420-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41482</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Science, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Global Warming, Health impacts, Human Rights, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When extreme weather events occur, the damage is usually measured in collapsed buildings, damaged roads and flooded homes. But the aftermath also brings a less visible threat. Heatwaves, droughts, erratic rainfall and flash floods, in combination or alone, also reshape the ecology of diseases. They can affect how long pathogens survive, change the distribution of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When extreme weather events occur, the damage is usually measured in collapsed buildings, damaged roads and flooded homes. But the aftermath also brings a less visible threat. Heatwaves, droughts, erratic rainfall and flash floods, in combination or alone, also reshape the ecology of diseases. They can affect how long pathogens survive, change the distribution of disease-carrying insects and bring people, animals and pathogens into closer contact, increasing the risk of outbreaks in new places at unexpected times. The latest assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that heatwaves and extreme rainfall events are projected to increase in the coming years. A 2025 study by IPE Global, an international development consultancy, and Esri India, a GIS mapping company, warns that extreme weather could become more severe by 2030, with heatwaves projected to double in major cities and extreme rainfall events expected to rise by 43% across the country. Health experts state that we need to factor in and prevent climate-related outbreaks rather than simply responding to them. Health risks during monsoons and droughts The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reports that the past decade has witnessed some of the worst floods on record. India, too, has experienced devastating floods, including those in Mumbai in 2025 and Kerala in 2018. “Heavy rainfall and flooding create ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of infections,” shares Surya Prasad, a consultant physician at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. “Floodwater overwhelms sewage systems and mixes human and animal waste into water sources, while warmer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-changing-climate-is-reshaping-indias-infectious-disease-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>People and the politics of contest, construction and compensation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 16:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Satish Bhartiya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ken-betwa river linking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[River Interlinking]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/16154553/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8-%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B5-%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BC%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%95-%E0%A4%98%E0%A4%B0-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40947</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Rivers, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The banks of the Barana river, where those affected by the Ken-Betwa project led the Panchtatva Satyagraha in July, now lie quiet. Although water levels have risen to cover much of the protest site, traces of the chita (pyre) and phansi (noose) used for demonstrations are still visible. The din of machinery can constantly be heard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The banks of the Barana river, where those affected by the Ken-Betwa project led the Panchtatva Satyagraha in July, now lie quiet. Although water levels have risen to cover much of the protest site, traces of the chita (pyre) and phansi (noose) used for demonstrations are still visible. The din of machinery can constantly be heard from beneath the nearby bridge. A large number of slippers lie scattered near the bridge, left behind during police interventions on July 19. Bhagwati Saur, 60, who lives 30 km away in Mainari village in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, arrived on July 4 at the protest site in Kupi village and returned home after the police cleared the site. She lives with her husband and six children in a five-room house. The family owns approximately five acres of agricultural land, where they grow mango, mahua and guava trees. She says that despite being affected by the project, she has, so far, received neither compensation for the house and land nor any related notice. “We pleaded for fair compensation, taking our appeal from Chhatarpur to Bhopal. When we were not heard, we had to raise our voices through the protest,” says Bhagwati. She is not the only one. In the affected villages, some families have been written off the compensation list, while others are awaiting payment. Many families are questioning the compensation rates and survey process. The April and July protests prompted the administration to order a reassessment of the families that had been left&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why is disaster risk increasing in the Himalayas? [Explainer]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 13:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Max Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hindu Kush Himalaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural disaster]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/08111108/AP26250291785391-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40769</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, Himalayas, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, and Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a warming world, rising temperatures in high mountain regions are driving glacier retreat and melting, contributing to an increase in the number and area of glacial lakes. As glaciers retreat, they can create new lakes or expand old ones, sometimes contained by natural dams made of ice or moraines — ridges of rock, sediment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a warming world, rising temperatures in high mountain regions are driving glacier retreat and melting, contributing to an increase in the number and area of glacial lakes. As glaciers retreat, they can create new lakes or expand old ones, sometimes contained by natural dams made of ice or moraines — ridges of rock, sediment and debris left behind by glaciers. If these dams fail, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) can release huge volumes of water and debris, severely flooding downstream communities and infrastructure. In some cases, GLOFs involve rockfalls or the collapse of entire mountain slopes with cascading impacts. Or there can be avalanches — massive, rapid downhill flows of rocks, ice and snow. Scientists have improved glacier and lake monitoring in the Himalayan region, but large gaps remain in data collection, sharing and processing. This affects real-time early warning for river systems that run across international borders. In the aftermath of the recent Nepal flood disaster, this explainer looks at the relevance of these issues. What caused the August 2026 disaster in Nepal? Initial reports suggested that a massive mountain slope failure involving glacier ice in Nepal’s Langtang National Park, close to the Chinese border. The mass of debris and flood waters travelled nearly 100 kilometres, gathering more water and rock as it gushed downhill, swelling and overflowing streams and rivers. In Nepal, scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and their partners investigated whether the event was a high-altitude ice-rock avalanche. Rock-snow-ice avalanches —&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The tiger reserve with abundant prey but no resident tigers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 11:23:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nivedhika Krishnan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/07063530/Tara_in_Tadoba_Tiger_Reserve_AJTJ_P1090339-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40721</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Telangana]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Villages, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and wild pigs, alongside leopards and wild dogs. On paper, the tiger reserve checks the boxes of sufficient prey and habitat. But the reserve has no resident tigers. A 12-year study conducted between 2010 and 2022 confirmed that no tigers live permanently in Kawal. Using systematically placed line transects to monitor prey numbers, researchers found that spotted deer populations grew over the decade, while sambar, nilgai, and chousingha populations remained stable. Despite this rich prey base, researchers recorded only 15 transient tigers entering Kawal from Maharashtra since 2015. Crucially, only two of these visiting tigers were female. While neighbouring corridors outside the reserve have breeding tigers with cubs, Kawal itself remains empty. According to lead researcher Imran Siddiqui, this absence comes down to a fundamental difference in how male and female tigers disperse, &#8220;Tigers disperse very differently based on sex. Male tigers are bolder risk-takers — they grow faster, leave their mothers earlier, and travel long distances through unfamiliar, human-dominated landscapes to claim territory. Female tigers are conservative — they stay close to their birthplace and require quiet, undisturbed habitat to raise cubs. Crossing busy highways, railways, and mines poses a massive perceived threat to females.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reduced exposure to nature is linked to immune system diseases [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/reduced-exposure-to-nature-is-linked-to-immune-system-diseases-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/reduced-exposure-to-nature-is-linked-to-immune-system-diseases-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 15:13:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ayisha FarseenaIrfan Shakeer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/03143959/Golpata_Forest_Taki_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40655</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Ecosystem services, Environment, Forests, Health impacts, Human Rights, and People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Homo sapiens appeared roughly 300,000 years ago. As outlined in naturalist Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species, this long transition occurred through continuous evolutionary pressures, shaped by interactions with surrounding microbial communities and natural environments. As species struggled and evolved within their ecosystems over time, natural selection shaped not only their physical traits [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Homo sapiens appeared roughly 300,000 years ago. As outlined in naturalist Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species, this long transition occurred through continuous evolutionary pressures, shaped by interactions with surrounding microbial communities and natural environments. As species struggled and evolved within their ecosystems over time, natural selection shaped not only their physical traits but also their internal immune system. This evolutionary process equipped organisms with a sensitive and a complex system to combat pathogens and foreign agents encountered in their natural environments. Ultimately, it is fair to say that human existence is the direct product of nature shaping our biology. The long-standing relationship among humans, microbes, and their shared environment was double-edged, yet they complemented each other. However, driven by rapid urbanisation and shifting lifestyles, human populations are slowly becoming disconnected with nature. Extensive scientific research and data collection have demonstrated the adverse effects of this ecological disconnect on the human immune system, particularly among recent generations of children, in the form of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). Multiple factors impact inflammatory diseases Over the past two decades, the rising incidence (new patients) of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) has drawn increasing attention from global researchers and policymakers. These are heterogeneous groups of inflammatory pathologies of multifactorial etiology (conditions caused by multiple factors) and involve either simultaneously or sequentially more organs. Some of the common examples are Crohn&#8217;s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and asthma. Unlike diseases caused by infectious&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/reduced-exposure-to-nature-is-linked-to-immune-system-diseases-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Groundwater study flags localised heavy metal concerns in a coastal district</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 16:37:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anjana V.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy metals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saline water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water consumption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water scarcity]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/31142205/bad-water-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40567</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Coast, Groundwater, Health impacts, Human Rights, Pollution, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the seafront, roughly 50 metres from Thottappally Harbour at Purakkad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, 58-year-old Sainabha Zakkir relies on the shallow well beside her kitchen for her water needs. A recurring plumbing issue has recently cut the piped water supply to six panchayats including her household, forcing her family back to the 32-year-old household [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the seafront, roughly 50 metres from Thottappally Harbour at Purakkad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, 58-year-old Sainabha Zakkir relies on the shallow well beside her kitchen for her water needs. A recurring plumbing issue has recently cut the piped water supply to six panchayats including her household, forcing her family back to the 32-year-old household well. While there is substantial tap-water coverage in her village, many households remain outside the network and still rely on groundwater sources like wells. Although Zakkir’s well is close to the Arabian Sea, its water has fortunately not become saline like many others in the neighbourhood, making it a community lifeline. &#8220;This well supports all my neighbours too,&#8221; Zakkir explains as she fills vessels. &#8220;Many old wells in this area have become unusable. During water shortages, people come here.&#8221; But salinity is not the only issue with the groundwater in the area. A new study published in Scientific Reports examined groundwater quality in Alappuzha&#8217;s coastal aquifers, focusing on heavy metal concentrations before and after the monsoon. It found that 32% of pre-monsoon and 34% of post-monsoon samples exhibited medium to high pollution levels with the critical hotspots at Ambalapuzha, Anandheswaram, and Thottapally for arsenic; Alappuzha, Kanjikuzhi and Paravoor for aluminium; and Paravoor, Alappuzha, Chennakari, and Ambalapuzha for iron. Sainabha Zakkir, a resident near Thottapally Harbour, Alappuzha, operates a 35-year-old well that provides salinity-free water despite the proximity to the sea. However, groundwater samples in the region may be containing heavy metal pollutants, finds a new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Going beyond the annual flood response with district level plans [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/district-level-planning-for-assams-flood-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/district-level-planning-for-assams-flood-crisis-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2026 14:37:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Promit Mookherjee]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disaster management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster risk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural disaster]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/27130726/AP25153469734760-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40491</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Governance, and Human Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 2.5 million hectares of cropland affected, over ₹400 billion in damages, and 1,215 lives lost. This is the cost of floods in Assam over a decade, between 2012-2022, and these are simply the quantifiable impacts from available official data. These numbers indicate a crisis that should be a national priority. Yet, every year, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 2.5 million hectares of cropland affected, over ₹400 billion in damages, and 1,215 lives lost. This is the cost of floods in Assam over a decade, between 2012-2022, and these are simply the quantifiable impacts from available official data. These numbers indicate a crisis that should be a national priority. Yet, every year, the response to the Assam floods follows a predictable pattern — brief outcry on social media, civil society-led relief efforts, hasty explanations on the causes of the flood, and promises of improved embankment repairs. There is little discussion about the systemic governance gaps that perpetuates this cycle of devastation. As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the risk of damage from floods for a particular region can be seen as a function of three factors. First is the hazard or the potential for occurrence of a flood determined by climatic factors like rainfall intensity and physical factors such as drainage density. Second is exposure or the number of people and assets that lie directly in the path of the flood. Finally, there is vulnerability which represents how badly a region’s population is likely to be impacted when a flood does occur. This depends on socio-economic conditions that determine how easily people are harmed (sensitivity) and how well they can recover (adaptive capacity). In Assam, the primary flood management strategy has been to build embankments and other river control structures. The state has built around 423 embankments covering more than 4,800 kilometres. The focus, therefore,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/district-level-planning-for-assams-flood-crisis-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rising temperatures could intensify humid heat during India’s monsoon</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rising-temperatures-could-intensify-humid-heat-during-indias-monsoon/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rising-temperatures-could-intensify-humid-heat-during-indias-monsoon/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Aug 2026 14:12:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nivedhika Krishnan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/20130158/AP26170164072945-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40310</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Health impacts, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Kothigal, a village situated in the coastal district of Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, 30-year-old V. Kalaiselvi’s workday is governed by a clock that the climate change impacts are actively resetting. Her family cultivates green gram, cotton, and urad dal across three acres. Even during the peak of summer, Kalaiselvi could reliably work in her fields [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Kothigal, a village situated in the coastal district of Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, 30-year-old V. Kalaiselvi’s workday is governed by a clock that the climate change impacts are actively resetting. Her family cultivates green gram, cotton, and urad dal across three acres. Even during the peak of summer, Kalaiselvi could reliably work in her fields until 10 a.m. But with the arrival of the monsoon, the air has turned heavy, wet, and unbearable. By 9 a.m., the sheer humidity forces her to retreat. &#8220;We cannot stay in the field after 9 a.m.&#8221; Kalaiselvi says. &#8220;We keep sweating relentlessly and suffer from itching and skin allergies. I frequently feel dizziness, headaches, and sinus pressure. Our children get eye sores,&#8221; she shares. Kalaiselvi now splits her shift — working from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., then stepping back onto the field from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., her family stays indoors under ceiling fans. &#8220;It is the only respite,&#8221; she says, adding that it is tough to stay inside a room because of the indoor heat as well. &#8220;But we have no other option.” Kalaiselvi’s daily ordeal is not an isolated weather anomaly; it is the frontline of what could be a dangerous climate transition. In the last decade, public health policies and Heat Action Plans (HAPs) across India have treated extreme heat as a purely summer phenomenon — a dry, scorching emergency in May and June that disappears once monsoon rains arrive. Once July hits,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rising-temperatures-could-intensify-humid-heat-during-indias-monsoon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The mine closes but the transition is far from over</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 16:22:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mines]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/17123529/6-scaled-e1786950421598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40173</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coal, Environment, Environmental Economics, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On July 24, barely 50 metres from the entrance to a coal mine in Bokaro, Jharkhand, smoke was rising from beneath the ground. A few trees around the spot were completely burnt, and the cleared patch showed signs of recent intervention. Mining here, at the New Selected (NS) Dhori Underground Mine (UG), stopped about 15 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On July 24, barely 50 metres from the entrance to a coal mine in Bokaro, Jharkhand, smoke was rising from beneath the ground. A few trees around the spot were completely burnt, and the cleared patch showed signs of recent intervention. Mining here, at the New Selected (NS) Dhori Underground Mine (UG), stopped about 15 years ago, after reportedly extracting around 1.8 million tonnes of coal. But the mine was formally listed as scientifically closed only on March 25, 2026. Santosh Nonia, 35, a resident of Makoli village near the mine, said dense smoke had started emerging from the same spot about three months earlier. He described it as a foul-smelling gas, followed by a major fire that burnt nearby trees. Several senior officials visited the site, he said, and the fire was brought under control after water was poured continuously for three days. Villagers had suggested digging up the area and filling it with sand as a permanent solution, but their suggestion was not accepted, Nonia said. “The smoke is still coming out. Very soon, it may become intense again,” he said, pointing towards the burnt patch. Just two days before this incident, on July 22, the Ministry of Coal had released Aaroh, its first annual report on scientific mine closure and repurposing. The report documents the closure of 42 coal mines and showcases ecological restoration, post-mining land use and community-oriented interventions at the sites. NS Dhori UG was the second mine in Jharkhand to be formally listed as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>As herders quit, the skills that helped human-tiger coexistence, disappear [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Aug 2026 13:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Varun Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/09231610/6_Thakre-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39995</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Ecology, Forests, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely populated, with over 400 villages located across the region. Though tiger numbers have favourably increased to 97 in this corridor, coexistence has become a renewed challenge. According to a news report published last August, more than 14,000 cattle were killed by tigers and leopards across the state in 2024–2025. In such situations, it is easy to overlook the role played by herders. They possess specialised knowledge that helps people coexist with tigers. They serve to locate livestock killed by predators and navigate government compensation systems. Cattle deaths can easily escalate tensions between forest-dwelling cattle holders and the forest department, the main agency dispensing the compensation. Herders don’t just address human-wildlife conflict, they mediate such difficult relations in the best interests of coexistence. One would most likely presume that in such times of peak conflict, the herder should be more indispensable than ever. Instead, herders are quitting their occupation due to economic, ecological, and social pressures. As herding and its associated knowledge disappears, it may undermine forms of coexistence that conservation programmes rarely account for. Cattle signs and compensation To understand what happens to tiger conservation when the practice of herding is disappearing, it is important&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Mumbai&#8217;s informal settlements struggle to power their homes</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/mumbais-informal-settlements-struggle-to-power-their-homes/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/mumbais-informal-settlements-struggle-to-power-their-homes/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Aug 2026 15:52:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhea Arora]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat stroke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban Heat Island]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/05001731/AP24180699138683-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39871</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Governance, Health impacts, and Human Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“We pay ₹600 every month whether we get electricity or not. We used to pay more but there are now two electricity mafias competing in this area,” says Ajuma Sheikh, a 63-year-old social worker who stays in Patra chawl in Mumbai’s Mankhurd suburb. For the past 25 years, she has been caught between the powerful [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“We pay ₹600 every month whether we get electricity or not. We used to pay more but there are now two electricity mafias competing in this area,” says Ajuma Sheikh, a 63-year-old social worker who stays in Patra chawl in Mumbai’s Mankhurd suburb. For the past 25 years, she has been caught between the powerful stakeholders of Mumbai’s electricity sector: the government, Adani Electricity and local unauthorised operators. In and around the Mumbai Port Trust, reserve forest areas and on land owned by the Railways and Defence departments, thousands of people live like the residents of Patra chawl — in densely-packed, make-shift homes made of tin sheets and plastic tarp with poor ventilation and no reliable electricity. “We sit outside all day because it’s too hot to go in,” Sheikh says, pointing to clusters of plastic chairs, cardboard sheets, cement bags, wooden planks, and ripped mattresses arranged haphazardly along the Mankhurd railway track. “We go indoors at 2 a.m. but get bit by mosquitoes all night. We can’t put up a net or light a coil because there’s no ventilation. We’ll suffocate.” Homes in Patra chawl, built with tin sheets that trap heat, can reach indoor temperatures of around 40°C, posing serious health risks. Image by Prachi Adesara/Mongabay. A survey from several South Asian cities including Yavatmal and Jalna in Maharashtra found that temperatures inside tin-roofed homes often exceeded those inside concrete-roofed homes and even outdoor temperatures. Sheikh lists the myriad heat-related conditions her community faces daily: suffocation, dehydration, fainting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/mumbais-informal-settlements-struggle-to-power-their-homes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Volcanoes, El Niño and colonial policies fuelled two deadly famines in India</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/volcanoes-el-nino-and-colonial-policies-fuelled-two-deadly-famines-in-india/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/volcanoes-el-nino-and-colonial-policies-fuelled-two-deadly-famines-in-india/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 13:56:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Karthik Vinod]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[colonisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[famine]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/30132302/Bellary_ZillaGreat_Famine_of_1876%E2%80%9378-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39721</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Science, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Health impacts, Human Rights, Monsoons, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two volcanic eruptions — one in Japan, and the other in Nicaragua — spewed sulfur aerosols into the atmosphere in the 1830s. This in turn accelerated cooling and a monsoon failure that triggered droughts across British-administered Agra and Madras, according to a new study. But while the volcanic eruptions triggered drought, it was decades of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two volcanic eruptions — one in Japan, and the other in Nicaragua — spewed sulfur aerosols into the atmosphere in the 1830s. This in turn accelerated cooling and a monsoon failure that triggered droughts across British-administered Agra and Madras, according to a new study. But while the volcanic eruptions triggered drought, it was decades of colonial over-taxation and environmental degradation that further turned the monsoon failure into famines which saw mass deaths. Between 1832 and 1838, India witnessed poor monsoon. This period saw weather patterns shift globally. El Niño, a periodic climatic phenomenon in the southern hemisphere, which struck in 1833, was one of them. It affected monsoon circulation thereby bringing an extended spell of dry weather all over India. Droughts broke out in the British-administered Agra and Madras, affecting cultivation of rice, legumes and other seasonal crops. Colonial policies led to economic mismanagement, feeding a famine that left over 900,000 people dead. The study, that establishes the link between these volcanic eruptions and the resulting famines, was published in the Journal of Historical Geography in December. It finds that the cooling effects of two distant volcanic eruptions — one near Japan in 1831, one in Nicaragua in 1835 — contributed to the severe monsoon failures in India. Because the peak cooling from the 1831 eruption happened to coincide with the El Niño&#8217;s onset, the two effects made the resulting drought worse than either would likely have caused on its own. The new study adds to a “growing body of work&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/volcanoes-el-nino-and-colonial-policies-fuelled-two-deadly-famines-in-india/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India has a railway noise problem but its health impacts are poorly understood</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 14:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rohan Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Railway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[railways]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/29114606/Outer_area_of_Howrah_Junction_railway_station_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39704</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Health impacts, Human Rights, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every day, thousands of trains pass through India&#8217;s cities, towns, and densely populated settlements. For millions of Indians living alongside railway corridors, the sound of passing trains — often accompanied by ground vibrations — is part of daily life. Most days, it continues late into the night. Yet, railway noise remains a poorly understood environmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every day, thousands of trains pass through India&#8217;s cities, towns, and densely populated settlements. For millions of Indians living alongside railway corridors, the sound of passing trains — often accompanied by ground vibrations — is part of daily life. Most days, it continues late into the night. Yet, railway noise remains a poorly understood environmental health risk. Recent studies have begun documenting elevated noise levels around railway tracks, with some communities experiencing exposures that exceed recommended residential limits. Yet, while researchers can increasingly measure railway noise, far less is known about what years of repeated exposure may mean for sleep, cardiovascular health, stress physiology, or quality of life. As evidence slowly emerges, researchers say India lacks a clear understanding of the cumulative human burden of railway-noise exposure, leaving important questions about health impacts unanswered. Measuring decibels, missing health evidence Studies in recent years are beginning to reveal what life near railway corridors may mean for communities around. A 2024 study led by Rajeev Kumar Mishra, an associate professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Delhi Technological University (DTU), found that residents living near railway corridors reported physiological and psychological effects associated with repeated exposure to railway noise and vibration. The research team measured noise at 10 sites near railway stations in Delhi and found that the noise exceeded Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) limits. Sleep disturbance was one of the most frequently reported concerns among surveyed residents. However, Mishra emphasises that these findings primarily document exposure to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>India’s ethanol push moves from the pump to the field, raising water and food questions</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 16:31:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethanol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethanol blending]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/28144133/signal-2026-07-28-12-24-18-195_003-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39684</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biofuels, Environment, Food, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Human Rights, Industry, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the third part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. This part examines how India&#8217;s ethanol model increasingly moving beyond sugarcane and molasses-based production to grains, raising questions about pressures on livestock feed and the food processing industry. The second part examined the challenges of procurement, storage, transport and quality control. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the third part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. This part examines how India&#8217;s ethanol model increasingly moving beyond sugarcane and molasses-based production to grains, raising questions about pressures on livestock feed and the food processing industry. The second part examined the challenges of procurement, storage, transport and quality control. In December 2025, tractors and crowds of farmers gathered near an under-construction grain-based ethanol plant in Rathi Khera village in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district. They feared the project would strain local water resources, pollute groundwater and damage farmland. The company said the plant would use zero-liquid-discharge technology and pollution-control systems. The protest later escalated into clashes with police, and construction was halted. The Hanumangarh agitation was one of several protests against ethanol and distillery projects reported across India, including in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana, where communities have raised concerns about water use, pollution and impacts on farmland. These disputes are emerging as India’s ethanol industry undergoes a major shift from sugarcane-based to grain-based production. In the latest tender by state oil companies, grain-based distilleries supplied more than 70% of the ethanol procured, according to Athar Shahab, managing director of Zuari Industries Limited, an Indian conglomerate with businesses spanning agribusiness, sugar and biofuels, real-estate and engineering services. A decade ago, sugarcane molasses dominated India’s ethanol supply. That balance has now shifted. India now derives roughly 65-70% of its ethanol from grains, mainly maize and rice from Food Corporation of India warehouses, while sugarcane-based feedstocks contribute around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Low rainfall delays paddy farming signalling El Niño-induced drought</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 13:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/27104503/144-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39614</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Human Rights, Monsoons, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, but it did not rain sufficiently. Now, the 40-year-old has returned to Bhilai without sowing paddy. Basant Dangi, also from the same village in Jharkhand, managed to set up a paddy nursery using water from a community well. But with insufficient rain, the land has dried and cracks have appeared in his field. “If it doesn’t rain in a day or two, the nursery seedlings will start to wither. The wider the cracks become, the more irrigation will be required. Paddy transplantation can only take place once it rains,” he says. Similarly, in Andreas Topno&#8217;s field in the nearby village of Meral, paddy seedlings are ready to be transplanted from the nursery to the field, but the lack of rainfall has changed his plans too. Shankar Dangi, a farmer from Chautha village, waited for the rains and then decided not to sow paddy this year. “It is better to sow maize than to keep waiting for the rain. However, the maize yield will also be low because there has been a delay of 10 days (for the start of monsoon),” he says. In Jharkhand, where kharif sowing season is linked to the monsoon, sowing was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Heat plans must account for age and gender, says UN Women paper</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/heat-plans-must-account-for-age-and-gender-says-un-women-paper/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/heat-plans-must-account-for-age-and-gender-says-un-women-paper/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 12:25:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharmila Vaidyanathan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat stroke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/21102915/pexels-votso-sothu-53802751-35635150-scaled-e1784610000177-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39480</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environment and Her]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health impacts, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, People, and United Nations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India witnessed yet another record-breaking summer this year. As scorching temperatures become the new norm, a new technical paper calls for a more granular understanding of gender and age-specific risks of heat stress. The paper, Gender-differentiated and age-specific risks of heat stress in a warming world: Implications for equality and resilience, by Venge Nyirongo, Deputy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India witnessed yet another record-breaking summer this year. As scorching temperatures become the new norm, a new technical paper calls for a more granular understanding of gender and age-specific risks of heat stress. The paper, Gender-differentiated and age-specific risks of heat stress in a warming world: Implications for equality and resilience, by Venge Nyirongo, Deputy Chief of Economic Empowerment and Policy Advisor for Sustainable Development at United Nations (UN) Women, highlights that heat stress affects men, women, children, adults and older people differently. Nyirongo explains that biological responses vary between men and women. While men have higher sweat rates than women, mortality from heat stroke and heat-related cardiac events is significantly higher among men. Heat impacts also emerge from the interaction of biological differences and gendered social roles, notes the paper. Strenuous physical work performed outdoors, primarily by men, raises internal body temperatures, placing them at greater risk of heat-related illnesses. For women, the paper notes, the impacts of passive heat exposure experienced indoors during heatwaves are a significant concern. It also points out that much of the agricultural work undertaken by women, such as transporting water or watering seedlings, is carried out during the hottest parts of the day, often without sufficient knowledge about heat impacts or access to cooling measures. “These patterns likely reflect both biology and social behaviour,” writes Nyirongo. He stresses the need for more data collection, monitoring and research to develop targeted heat adaptation measures across different demographic groups. “The paper underscores that a significant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/heat-plans-must-account-for-age-and-gender-says-un-women-paper/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>The hidden burden of rural air pollution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 16:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Himanshu Praveen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick kiln]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/17122910/A-commuter-rides-through-a-dense-low-lying-blanket-of-toxic-smog-at-sunset-a-common-winter-and-post-monsoon-reality-along-rural-Bihar_s-unmanaged-waste-dumping-tracks-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39390</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after the monsoon into the winter months when temperatures plunge, and ground-level wind speeds drop to near-stagnation. It prevents dust and emissions from industries and households from dispersing easily. As a result, pollutants accumulate near the ground, causing air quality to deteriorate. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, a local social activist based in Bhojpur, says, “During the summer, we somehow manage the heat and dust storms, which are challenging but still manageable. But the real disaster unfolds during the winter months when a strange heaviness grips the village air. &#8220;Persistent eye irritation and chronic throat infections have now become a daily reality for our children and the elderly,” he adds. Aamod Kumar, a resident of Koilwar, says the air becomes unbearable in winter. &#8220;Once the brick kilns start operating, the whole area fills with smoke, especially in the mornings. Ash settles on our crops, affecting the harvest. Stepping outside feels like breathing smoke instead of fresh air.&#8221; The concerns expressed by Aamod and Singh are not an isolated experience. It is supported by findings from a study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Under the project named the AMRIT (Ambient Air Quality Monitoring over Rural areas using&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>India’s heat response is missing public health logic [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-heat-response-is-missing-public-health-logic-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-heat-response-is-missing-public-health-logic-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 14:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Purvi Patel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/13120321/AP24185569844799-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39219</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Health impacts, and Human Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every summer, as temperatures rise, Heat Action Plans are invoked, labour woes are highlighted, and mortality counts are contested. Yet, nothing changes in the long run. The central question: Are we adequately protecting people’s health? remains conspicuously unaddressed. It is not for lack of evidence. The failure, repeated every year, lies in failure to translate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every summer, as temperatures rise, Heat Action Plans are invoked, labour woes are highlighted, and mortality counts are contested. Yet, nothing changes in the long run. The central question: Are we adequately protecting people’s health? remains conspicuously unaddressed. It is not for lack of evidence. The failure, repeated every year, lies in failure to translate health science into coherent strategy and actions. Across surveillance, research, intervention design, implementation, and governance, health science and public-health principles are often overlooked, distorted, or lost in translation. The quantification trap Expecting public health surveillance to fully account for every heat-related illness (HRI) before mounting a response is a fundamental misunderstanding. First, surveillance systems, by continuously gathering data of selected serious, preventable, and reliably reportable health conditions, are meant to detect signals in time to trigger action. The goal is situational awareness, not a census. As such, the National Heat-Related Illness and Death Surveillance (NHRIDS) focuses on capturing heatstroke, the most severe heat-related illness, in near-real time. Secondly, India&#8217;s heat surveillance carries structural limitations. Reporting still depends on manual data entry, which is inherently prone to underreporting. Additionally, unlike malaria or tuberculosis, there are no confirmatory tests for heat-related illnesses to add diagnostic certainty. High-income countries bypass this technologically by extracting syndromic data from electronic health records, and still suffer from undercounting. India&#8217;s digital health mission is years behind reaching that level of modernisation. As such, extending surveillance reporting to all heat-related illnesses in our current system adds noise and burden rather than actionable insights. Epidemiologically,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-heat-response-is-missing-public-health-logic-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Indigenous communities missing in India’s report on access and benefit sharing [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-communities-missing-in-indias-report-on-access-and-benefit-sharing-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-communities-missing-in-indias-report-on-access-and-benefit-sharing-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 12:46:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alphonsa JojanShyama Kuriakose]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[access benefit sharing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Convention on Biological Diversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[indigenous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/06093427/AP25134623115158-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38994</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India as a biodiversity-rich nation has been lauded for its legislative efforts in championing the domestic implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through its Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Additionally, as a party to the CBD, a global agreement on biodiversity protection, India also sought to implement the Nagoya Protocol on access to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India as a biodiversity-rich nation has been lauded for its legislative efforts in championing the domestic implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through its Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Additionally, as a party to the CBD, a global agreement on biodiversity protection, India also sought to implement the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation (Nagoya Protocol) through the existing Biological Diversity (BD) Act framework and the specific Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Regulations under it. The BD Act and its rules along with the ABS Regulations together aim at regulating access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and sharing benefits equitably and fairly from the use of such resources and knowledge. In preparation for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the CBD in 2026, India has submitted its first national report on implementation of Nagoya Protocol on February 27, 2026. This commentary examines the submissions of the Indian government in the report with respect to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). Negation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities The Nagoya Protocol places special obligations on member countries to recognise the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) under the access and benefit-sharing (ABS) mechanism. To elaborate, IPLCs have the right to give prior informed consent (PIC) to the use of their bioresources and their traditional knowledge. This is what is generally known as ‘community PIC’ and it includes the right of the communities to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-communities-missing-in-indias-report-on-access-and-benefit-sharing-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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