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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/climate-change-adaptation/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:20:13 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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					<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>
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					<title>Maharashtra formally recognises women farmers regardless of land ownership [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/maharashtra-formally-recognises-women-farmers-regardless-of-land-ownership-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/maharashtra-formally-recognises-women-farmers-regardless-of-land-ownership-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2026 12:25:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Soumya Swaminathan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/01002543/IMG_20260924_221913_Mahesh-Maske-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41235</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Food, and Organic Farming]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On October 2, Maharashtra is set to begin issuing the Women Farmers Certificates (WFCs) under the newly enacted Women Farmer’s Empowerment Act 2026. The certificates will formally recognise women engaged in agriculture or allied activities as farmers, even when they do not own the land. The WFC will open doors for lakhs of women who [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On October 2, Maharashtra is set to begin issuing the Women Farmers Certificates (WFCs) under the newly enacted Women Farmer’s Empowerment Act 2026. The certificates will formally recognise women engaged in agriculture or allied activities as farmers, even when they do not own the land. The WFC will open doors for lakhs of women who sow, tend, harvest and manage our agri-foods systems, as well as livestock, poultry and fisheries, but are often left out of the formal definition of a farmer. Maharashtra has shown political will and a clear sense of urgency in bringing women farmers’ needs into the spotlight and leading by example. Feminisation of agriculture  We have been witnessing feminisation of agriculture for some time now. As men move to non-farm jobs, women have increasingly taken up the role of managing and maintaining the agricultural lands. But this has often meant more responsibility without a corresponding rise in control, assets or decision-making power. Without land titles, they also struggle to access critical resources such as credit, water, technology and extension services, reducing them to labourers in a sector they largely sustain. Nationally, women make up close to 60% of the agricultural workforce as reported by the Periodic Labour Force Survey and shared by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Ramnath Thakur recently in Parliament, but they hold less than 15% of land titles. In Maharashtra, 82% of the rural female workforce is engaged in agriculture, yet women hold only about 15.5% of operational farmland. Empowering women&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/maharashtra-formally-recognises-women-farmers-regardless-of-land-ownership-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s flood claim tests whether a nascent climate fund can deliver</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 15:25:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hindu Kush Himalaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Loss and damage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Loss and damage fund]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/14125738/AP26251387871560-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40892</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 1,386 people have died and over 5,130 more missing, as of September 12, following the August 26 floods in Nepal. In the wreckage along the Bhote Koshi river lie two unresolved questions: Is climate change linked to the disaster? And, can a nascent global fund, built to help vulnerable countries in such crises, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 1,386 people have died and over 5,130 more missing, as of September 12, following the August 26 floods in Nepal. In the wreckage along the Bhote Koshi river lie two unresolved questions: Is climate change linked to the disaster? And, can a nascent global fund, built to help vulnerable countries in such crises, actually deliver? Soon after the floods, the Government of Nepal wrote a letter to the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established in 2022 to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. In the letter signed by the country’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary, Nepal requested the board to take a special decision to respond rapidly, directly and effectively. Signed on August 31, the letter emphasised that a prompt response would “demonstrate that the Fund can translate international solidarity into timely support for vulnerable countries and communities when it is most urgently needed.” Nepal contributes roughly 0.027% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The mountainous country is in the &#8216;least developed country&#8217; category designated by the UN and is a highly climate-vulnerable country that &#8220;continues to bear disproportionate and escalating climate impacts,&#8221; the letter states. It argues that the Bhote Koshi disaster demonstrates how extreme events in the cryosphere can rapidly cascade and compound from high mountains to densely populated downstream areas, affecting water, food, energy, health, infrastructure and ecosystems. Though&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 15:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flash flood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nepal]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/10141820/nepal-flood-2026-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40837</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Himalayas, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Dams, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, Global Warming, Himalayas, Hydroelectric power, Impacts of Climate Change, Mountains, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The August 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and that knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The August 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and that knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on whether Nepal should rethink its overall hydropower strategy or just adopt better-engineered plants. Amid this, the flood could jeopardise the country’s clean energy targets and push it to adopt more solar power. Immediate impacts The recent flash flood crippled a combined installed generation capacity of 281 megawatts, including a solar power plant, and damaged four other under-construction projects, totaling a capacity of 700 MW. One of the oldest hydroelectric plants, the 14.1-MW Devighat Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned 42 years ago, was wiped out. Further downstream, the flood badly damaged a 25-MW solar power plant, according to data compiled by Mongabay from official sources. Similarly, with a hub of a transmission line washed away on the Trishuli river’s banks, another 150 MW of power from different power plants is cut off from the national grid system. Transmission lines, including a substation on the Trishuli riverbank, were also destroyed. While officials are assessing the damage, estimates put losses at hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees, according to media reports. They say they can’t yet provide timelines for when the affected projects will resume generation. Around 983 engineers and workers are feared trapped inside the tunnels or power houses&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>El Niño brings drought declaration into sharper focus</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-brings-drought-declaration-into-sharper-focus/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-brings-drought-declaration-into-sharper-focus/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 15:43:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural disaster]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/03104144/AP649388761550-scaled-e1788412383893-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40639</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Global Warming, Impacts of Climate Change, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite government assurances of adequate preparations, the looming El Niño has cast an uncertain shadow over crop productivity in India. So far, there has been a rainfall deficit of 14% over the country since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to the Crop Weather Watch Group under the Department of Agriculture. The El Niño [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Despite government assurances of adequate preparations, the looming El Niño has cast an uncertain shadow over crop productivity in India. So far, there has been a rainfall deficit of 14% over the country since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to the Crop Weather Watch Group under the Department of Agriculture. The El Niño is expected to gain strength over the second half of the monsoon season (August-September), the India Meteorological Department confirmed. The latest kharif crop sown area report shows a reduction of 13 lakh (1.3 million) hectares in the sown area of paddy, the dominant kharif crop, compared to last year. In anticipation of the El Niño’s impacts, the Indian Council on Agricultural Research (ICAR) put out an advisory instructing district-level farming research centres – Krishi Vigyan Kendras — to act opportunistically, distributing climate resilient seeds, disseminating advisories, and providing resources on fodder conservation. Even so, drought conditions have led to vocal demands for relief from several parts of the country, including Gujarat and Karnataka, putting the spotlight on the gaps between drought preparedness, detection and declaration. According to the India Drought Monitor, a tool developed by researchers from the Water and Climate Lab at IIT Gandhinagar, nearly 40% of the country is facing abnormal, moderate, or severe levels of dryness as of August 24, based on select hydrometeorological indicators alone. How droughts are declared India’s drought declaration process is dictated by the 2016 Manual for Drought Management, drafted by the Department of Agriculture under the Union&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-brings-drought-declaration-into-sharper-focus/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<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>When farm ponds fail to hold water</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/when-farm-ponds-fail-to-hold-water/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/when-farm-ponds-fail-to-hold-water/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2026 13:50:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shivam Bhardwaj]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/26122217/keshav-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40466</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Groundwater, Impacts of Climate Change, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Very low rain this year; only one rain in this season till now,” said 35-year-old farmer Vipin Kumar Yadav from Manipur village in Mahua block of Uttar Pradesh&#8217;s Banda district, this July, as the agriculture-dependent region waited for rains. Pointing to the farm pond, or khet talab, dug on his land, Yadav said the difference [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Very low rain this year; only one rain in this season till now,” said 35-year-old farmer Vipin Kumar Yadav from Manipur village in Mahua block of Uttar Pradesh&#8217;s Banda district, this July, as the agriculture-dependent region waited for rains. Pointing to the farm pond, or khet talab, dug on his land, Yadav said the difference from last year was stark. “Look at this, how little water is in my pond this time. Last year around this time, the entire pond was full. I used that water in October-November to irrigate my wheat crop. This year the water is low; the 10-foot-deep pond couldn&#8217;t even fill up to five feet. I am worried: how will the wheat and mustard crops get water this year?” The concern is significant in a region where much of agriculture remains dependent on rainfall. By August 1, rainfall in Banda was 26% below normal for the monsoon season. The pond was dug in Yadav&#8217;s field in May 2024. Last year, he used the stored water to irrigate four acres of wheat twice, more than doubling his wheat yield from about 3.5-4.5 quintals per acre to 9-10 quintals per acre. This year, however, the pond has received much less water. The concern over rainfall comes as forecasts point to a strengthening El Niño. On July 30, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences said in a press release that El Niño had intensified from weak conditions in June to moderate levels in July and could strengthen further to the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/when-farm-ponds-fail-to-hold-water/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>India started measuring climate readiness of cities, then stalled [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/india-started-measuring-climate-readiness-of-cities-then-stalled-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/india-started-measuring-climate-readiness-of-cities-then-stalled-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2026 15:31:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ravikant Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Climate Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Action Plan]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/21132802/AP23168434501284-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40359</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change and Climate Change Adaptation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cities are the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They are also home to more than half of humanity. As a focal point of human activity, cities are both major contributors to global warming and crucial actors in addressing it. Climate change impacts cities through more frequent extreme weather [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cities are the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They are also home to more than half of humanity. As a focal point of human activity, cities are both major contributors to global warming and crucial actors in addressing it. Climate change impacts cities through more frequent extreme weather events, heatwaves, sea-level rise, and food and water insecurity, which worsen social and economic disparities, especially in developing countries. Cities are key to combating climate change worldwide because many of the measures needed to cut emissions and build resilience are implemented at the local level, even though climate policies, programmes and schemes are often formulated at the national level. City Climate Action Plans are being prepared, implemented, monitored, evaluated and recalibrated, with stakeholders involved in their design and implementation. Growing climate risks Indian cities have started facing diverse climate change impacts, such as flooding, heatwaves, water scarcity and air pollution. For example, 21 major cities in India, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, are heading towards complete groundwater depletion, affecting access for 100 million people. An Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) report prepared for the Fifteenth Finance Commission highlights flooding as the most widespread hazard affecting Indian cities and settlements. Some regions, particularly the plains of the Ganga and Brahmaputra, are impacted every year. Of India’s 7,500-kilometre coastline, 5,700 km is exposed to cyclones and flooding. About 40% of India’s population lives within 100 km of the coast, mostly in densely populated urban areas. Studies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/india-started-measuring-climate-readiness-of-cities-then-stalled-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<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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					<title>The fraught politics and ethics of climate rankings [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-fraught-politics-and-ethics-of-climate-rankings-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-fraught-politics-and-ethics-of-climate-rankings-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 13:59:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chirag Dhara]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/14114613/AP26180521878742-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40138</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Conservation, Ecosystem services, Energy, and Environment]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[​The 2022 version of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), one of the world’s best-known environmental indices, produced biennially by Yale and Columbia Universities, sparked an acerbic debate in India when it assessed the country as one of the worst performers among 180 countries. Environment and policy experts Navroz K. Dubash and Sharachchandra Lele, in an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[​The 2022 version of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), one of the world’s best-known environmental indices, produced biennially by Yale and Columbia Universities, sparked an acerbic debate in India when it assessed the country as one of the worst performers among 180 countries. Environment and policy experts Navroz K. Dubash and Sharachchandra Lele, in an opinion piece called the EPI’s methodology “indefensible and tone-deaf” on ethics. Others argued that the index pushes a worldview that suits the “developed world,” and proposed that India build its own benchmarking system. The Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC) went so far as to issue a stringent public rebuttal, which, unusually, elicited a robust counter-rebuttal by the EPI developers. A few months later in 2022, another well-known index called the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute, and Climate Action Network (CAN) International, released its rankings, which differed sharply from the EPI by ranking India among the world’s best climate performers. In response, the Ministry issued a press release welcoming the CCPI. Why do credible, science-based indices arrive at conflicting assessments for the same country? What, then, do we make of any country’s “true” climate performance? These questions have yet again been thrown into sharp relief with the 2026 edition of the EPI released on July 9. European countries have again been ranked the world’s best performers and India among the worst. It would be easy to read these results as merely the latest chapter of an old&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-fraught-politics-and-ethics-of-climate-rankings-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>After decades of drought-proofing, farms still depend on rain</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2026 13:55:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agricultural drought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/06123710/IMG_2166-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39920</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Dams, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“This is all barren land now, but here we used to farm,” says Koushal Kishore Vishvakarma, a resident of Darudih village in Palamu district, Jharkhand, pointing to a long stretch of dry land spreading across the region. “It’s covered in grass because of the fresh monsoon rain, but it’s nothing more than grazing land now,” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“This is all barren land now, but here we used to farm,” says Koushal Kishore Vishvakarma, a resident of Darudih village in Palamu district, Jharkhand, pointing to a long stretch of dry land spreading across the region. “It’s covered in grass because of the fresh monsoon rain, but it’s nothing more than grazing land now,” adds the 52-year-old farmer. Twenty years ago, this was not the case in his village or the villages around it. “Can you see that river there?” he says, standing at least a kilometre and a half away from a small perennial tributary. “From there, water used to come all the way here.” Lift irrigation, once a lifeline His village is one of many where a lift irrigation system once watered upland fields that gravity alone could not reach. These systems use pumps to draw water from rivers or reservoirs and carry it uphill. “Ten surrounding villages benefited from it. Even in summer, people used to grow crops and vegetables,” he recalls. On his own 10 acres, he says, one year of farming used to produce enough food for two years, with more than 50 quintals left over to sell every year. The system ran for just five years. Then a pipe was damaged, villagers say, and it was never repaired. An abandoned lift irrigation system in Palamu that once irrigated nearby fields, now remains dry. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla. “Now we grow crops only in the rainy season, and only in the lowland paddy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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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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						<item>
					<title>India’s carbon market sets weak emissions targets, analysis finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-carbon-market-sets-weak-emissions-targets-analysis-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-carbon-market-sets-weak-emissions-targets-analysis-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 16:51:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/31160627/pexels-yajna-s-r-55953015-20591230-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39764</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Green Business, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Pollution, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A critical evaluation of emissions reduction targets set under the country’s carbon market framework has deemed the targets “modest and unambitious” — unlikely to drive changes in operations that would reduce emissions substantially. Between October 2025 and January 2026 India notified greenhouse gas reduction targets for nine industries. Under the framework, industries can earn carbon [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A critical evaluation of emissions reduction targets set under the country’s carbon market framework has deemed the targets “modest and unambitious” — unlikely to drive changes in operations that would reduce emissions substantially. Between October 2025 and January 2026 India notified greenhouse gas reduction targets for nine industries. Under the framework, industries can earn carbon credits if they surpass these reduction targets, with each credit signifying an additional tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced per unit of production (emissions intensity). The industries covered include cement, aluminium, iron and steel, paper and pulp, chlor-alkali, petroleum refinery, petrochemical units, fertilisers, and textiles. The evaluation of the targets by Climate Risk Horizons (CRH), a research organisation, finds that in addition to the targets being “readily achievable,” over the two-year compliance period, the cost of non-compliance is too low to incentivise the kind of systematic operational changes needed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. India is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, with emissions from industrial processes and product use accounting for approximately 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. In August 2022, the Indian government pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 45% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. It also pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2070. According to the CRH analysis, the cost of purchasing credits for major companies in the steel, aluminium, and cement sectors is between 0.6% and 7% of profits, assuming credit prices are $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, as indicated by S&amp;P Global, which tracks&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-carbon-market-sets-weak-emissions-targets-analysis-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Bihar&#8217;s green budget expands, but environmental indicators show little progress</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/bihars-green-budget-expands-but-environmental-indicators-show-little-progress/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/bihars-green-budget-expands-but-environmental-indicators-show-little-progress/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 14:22:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Umesh Kumar Ray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/31125413/NTPC_Kantin_Muzaffarpur-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39756</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Environmental Politics, Green Business, Green Energy, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It has been seven years since Bihar introduced a green budget. However, even now, data from various sources suggests little to no improvement in key environmental indicators such as renewable energy, air pollution, biodiversity and waste management, among others. The Bihar government presented its first green budget in 2020-21; this year, 2026, it presented its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It has been seven years since Bihar introduced a green budget. However, even now, data from various sources suggests little to no improvement in key environmental indicators such as renewable energy, air pollution, biodiversity and waste management, among others. The Bihar government presented its first green budget in 2020-21; this year, 2026, it presented its seventh, amounting to approximately ₹158 billion which is roughly three times the amount of the initial ₹56 billion budget. However, on key environmental indicators, the state&#8217;s performance remains poor. For example, the energy sector accounts for roughly 65% of Bihar&#8217;s total greenhouse gas emissions, driven by coal-based power plants. The shift to renewable energy has been low, with renewable energy capacity for 2025-26 standing at 651 MW, up from 376 MW in 2020. The amount is significantly behind the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) call for increasing renewable capacity to 10,000 MW (10 GW) by 2030 and 28,000 MW (28 GW) by 2050 to achieve a &#8216;net zero&#8217; pathway, as stated in its 2024 report. At the current pace, Bihar will reach around 900 MW, just about a tenth of that 2030 target. Biodiversity data shows a similar trend. In 2019, Bihar had 4,550 wetlands spread across 389,713 hectares. By 2025, the number of wetlands reduced by 24 to 4,526 wetlands. As per the latest green budget data, in this period, the total area of natural water bodies has shrunk by 16,843 hectares, that&#8217;s about 70% the size of Patna, Bihar&#8217;s capital. In waste&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/bihars-green-budget-expands-but-environmental-indicators-show-little-progress/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Insects may be guiding seasonal bird movements in the eastern Himalayas, study finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 10:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manjeera Gowravaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eastern himalayas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/28092911/image-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39660</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Community based conservation, Conservation, Ecology, Forests, Global Warming, Insects, Migration, Mountains, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every winter, in the Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, certain birds like babblers, laughing thrushes, yuhinas and other small mountain birds, that spent the warm months at the top of the mountains, begin making their way down. Many of them don&#8217;t really fly at all, they just hop, branch by branch, tree by tree, descending hundreds [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every winter, in the Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, certain birds like babblers, laughing thrushes, yuhinas and other small mountain birds, that spent the warm months at the top of the mountains, begin making their way down. Many of them don&#8217;t really fly at all, they just hop, branch by branch, tree by tree, descending hundreds of metres over days and weeks. And come summer, they go back up again. These seasonal journeys are common in the Himalayas, where roughly 65% of high-elevation birds make some form of elevational movement. Yet, the reasons behind these shifts have remained only partially understood. &#8220;The theory behind why birds migrate has two major explanations, both connected to temperature,&#8221; said Tarun Menon, a Ph.D. researcher at the Indian Institute of Science and the study&#8217;s lead author. &#8220;One is that cold directly affects the bird and it moves to stay warm. The other is that the cold affects the food, and the bird is following the food.&#8221; What Menon had noticed during his earlier work in the Himalayas was that the birds that were most likely to migrate down the mountain in winter were almost always insectivores. That observation eventually grew into a larger question: were the birds following the insects rather than escaping the cold? A view of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, where insect availability, more than temperature alone, may be guiding the seasonal movements of birds up and down the mountain ranges. Image by Tarun Menon. The study, published in Biology Letters, offers evidence from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/heat-plans-must-account-for-age-and-gender-says-un-women-paper/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Measuring development through wellbeing, sustainability and more [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2026 15:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Oliver King EDISoumya Swaminathan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GDP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Accounting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resilience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/20143843/pexels-equalstock-20527529-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39466</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Climate Change Adaptation, and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s development story, like much of the world, continues to be told through a single number: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every quarter, GDP growth dominates headlines, shaping perceptions of economic success and influencing policy priorities. Yet GDP measures only the value of goods and services produced within an economy. It does not reveal whether soils [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s development story, like much of the world, continues to be told through a single number: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every quarter, GDP growth dominates headlines, shaping perceptions of economic success and influencing policy priorities. Yet GDP measures only the value of goods and services produced within an economy. It does not reveal whether soils are becoming more fertile, biodiversity is recovering, water resources are being replenished, diets are becoming healthier, or communities are becoming more resilient. While GDP remains indispensable for measuring economic activity, it was never designed to capture the quality, equity or sustainability of development. Recognising these limitations, the recently released report of the United Nations High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP, Counting What Counts: A Compass of Progress for People and Planet, urges countries to complement GDP with a broader framework that measures well-being, equity, sustainability and resilience. Rather than replacing GDP, the report recommends integrating these measures into planning, budgeting and accountability systems so that governments assess what truly matters for long-term human progress. For India, this call is particularly timely. Over the past three decades, the country has achieved remarkable economic growth, lifting millions out of poverty and becoming one of the world&#8217;s largest economies. Yet this progress has coincided with ecological degradation, groundwater depletion, biodiversity loss, climate vulnerability, nutritional insecurity and growing pressure on rural livelihoods. Economic output can continue to rise even as the natural and social systems that sustain it are steadily weakened. Relying solely on GDP therefore risks encouraging policies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Trade liberalisation meets carbon tariffs as India eyes EU market [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2026 13:19:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Isha SharmaSoutrik Goswami]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/30112819/AP459830664323-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38847</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Green Business, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon in early 2026 after more than two decades of negotiations. Recently, the Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and the EU are expected to sign the FTA in December, and it is likely to come into force early next year. The agreement signalled [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon in early 2026 after more than two decades of negotiations. Recently, the Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and the EU are expected to sign the FTA in December, and it is likely to come into force early next year. The agreement signalled cooperation amid geopolitical tensions, but it also came amid contestation over the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a tax on the greenhouse gas content of imported goods, which became fully operational in January this year. As the union minister Goyal said, the FTA will give India the opportunity to increase exports to European countries, but export-oriented industries will also face pressure to reduce the emission intensity of their exports to comply with CBAM. The opposing impacts of tariff liberalisation and carbon tariffs on exports call for a closer look at the interaction between the CBAM and the FTA, especially in the Indian iron and steel sector, which remains one of the most exposed to the CBAM. It raises the question: how will the interaction between the FTA and the CBAM impact India&#8217;s export opportunities compared to those of its competitors? Moreover, is India’s long-term export competitiveness increasingly being tied to its industrial emissions? Climate action or trade-protectionism CBAM currently targets six carbon-intensive sectors, including iron and steel. These sectors account for around 10% of India’s exports to the EU and about 1.64% of total Indian exports. However, the EU is planning a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Night shifts help brick kiln workers avoid peak heat, not its consequences</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 15:12:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shivam Bhardwaj]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick kiln]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/26113356/reena-working-at-site-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38821</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Health impacts, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was 3:00 a.m. on May 22. Crickets chirped in an open field near Kurka village in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. However, the workday had started two hours ago for Reena Kashyap, 30, and her husband, Jagdish Kashyap who were moulding bricks under a solar-powered light. &#8220;We are now working through the night because it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was 3:00 a.m. on May 22. Crickets chirped in an open field near Kurka village in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. However, the workday had started two hours ago for Reena Kashyap, 30, and her husband, Jagdish Kashyap who were moulding bricks under a solar-powered light. &#8220;We are now working through the night because it is impossible to stay here in the scorching afternoon heat,” she said. The couple, who mould bricks for Adarsh Brick Industry, went to sleep at 9:00 p.m. and woke up at 12:30 a.m. They planned to continue working until 11:00 a.m. “After that, I have to bathe, wash clothes, cook, and feed the children. Then in the evening, we stack the bricks and prepare the mud for the next day; the entire day is gone,&#8221; she said. Jagdish added, &#8220;During summer, we barely manage four hours of sleep a day. It is so hot during the day that sleeping is impossible. We don&#8217;t have any facilities like fans, coolers, or electricity here ,at the kiln.&#8221; The couple migrated from the village of Bujhia Jagir to the brick kiln site in Kurka in the same tehsil, Meerganj, in January 2026. They live here with their four children in a temporary shelter built of bricks and raw mud with a tin roof. There is no ventilation or electricity. &#8220;We try to sleep for one to two hours during the day, but it bakes inside. It is impossible to sleep; the entire body feels restless,&#8221; said Reena, who&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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