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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/volcanoes-el-nino-and-colonial-policies-fuelled-two-deadly-famines-in-india/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tunnel landslide raises fresh questions over mountain development</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tunnel-landslide-raises-fresh-questions-over-mountain-development/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tunnel-landslide-raises-fresh-questions-over-mountain-development/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 16:09:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/14124059/the-incidentsite-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39279</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, and Western Ghats]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Less than a month before the second anniversary of the 2024 Wayanad landslides which fundamentally altered public understanding of landslide risks in the country and killed 298 people while leaving many more injured and homeless, another mountain slope collapsed in Wayanad district of Kerala. This time, the slip occurred at the exit section of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Less than a month before the second anniversary of the 2024 Wayanad landslides which fundamentally altered public understanding of landslide risks in the country and killed 298 people while leaving many more injured and homeless, another mountain slope collapsed in Wayanad district of Kerala. This time, the slip occurred at the exit section of the under-construction Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi twin tunnel project. On July 7, 2026, following intense monsoon rain, a massive slope failure hit the tunnel project near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, near Meppadi. The incident was initially described as a mudslide because a large mass of waterlogged excavated earth swept through the construction site. It was later identified by experts and officials as a landslide that originated higher up the slope, with the accumulated tunnel spoil adding to its destructive force. The collapse buried workers, vehicles and equipment, killing seven people. Two others remained missing after days of search operations. Investigations in progress Investigators are also examining whether the failure was aggravated by the contractor&#8217;s alleged non-compliance with directions to remove the excavated soil accumulated near the site before the monsoon. As per the reading on the hyper-local rain gauge at the research institute, Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology near the Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel corridor, the area received about 260 mm of rainfall over the preceding three days, saturating the already unstable hillside before the collapse. According to the district administration, the tragedy unfolded when earth, boulders and debris crashed onto the construction site, trapping workers engaged in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tunnel-landslide-raises-fresh-questions-over-mountain-development/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Watershed management improves livelihoods in drought-prone village</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 15:02:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vinaya Kurtkoti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[watershed]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/09143228/A-cement-naala-baandh-in-Kiraksal-constructed-around-2017-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39140</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Community based conservation, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, Groundwater, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amol Katkar was a college student in 2002 when Kiraksal experienced a terrible drought. “I remember children roaming from village to village on foot or on their cycles in search of drinking water. Cattle camps were set up and farmers were compelled to leave their homes to stay with their cattle in neighbouring villages,” shared [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amol Katkar was a college student in 2002 when Kiraksal experienced a terrible drought. “I remember children roaming from village to village on foot or on their cycles in search of drinking water. Cattle camps were set up and farmers were compelled to leave their homes to stay with their cattle in neighbouring villages,” shared Katkar, sarpanch of Kiraksal from 2015 to 2018. Kiraksal is a village located approximately 75 km east of Satara headquarters in Maharashtra’s Maan taluka and covers about 18 sq km of the Deccan Plateau terrain. The semi-arid climate here, with low average annual rainfall (300-500 mm), and weathered basalt, known locally as “khadak”, makes it a challenging landscape for agriculture. History repeated itself in 2012, when Maan taluka was again declared drought-hit by the Maharashtra government. “There was a severe drought, and Maan, Atpadi, and Sangola talukas were among the worst affected,” recalls Avinash Pol, Chief Advisor at the Paani Foundation. As before, Maan taluka was heavily dependent on tankers and farmers were once again forced to leave their homes and settle in cattle camps. It was at this crucial time that Pol visited Kiraksal, conducted a gram sabha, and advised Katkar (who was a gram panchayat member at the time) and a few other villagers on watershed management. Kiraksal village in Satara, Maharashtra, with its semi-arid conditions and low rainfall, has experienced severe droughts. In the last decade or so, local government bodies and citizens have banded together to improve watershed management. Image by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cooling cities needs climate-smart design, not just more trees</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/cooling-cities-needs-climate-smart-design-not-just-more-trees/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/cooling-cities-needs-climate-smart-design-not-just-more-trees/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 13:23:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepa Padmanabhan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tree plantation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban Heat Island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban trees]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/09130111/AP24170444747328-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Ecosystem services, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, Nature-based Climate Solutions, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Urban greening is widely promoted as a solution to rising temperatures. But can planting more trees actually make people feel hotter in some cities? A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers from IIT Gandhinagar and Northeastern University, USA examines this paradox. Instead of looking only at air temperature or land surface temperature, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Urban greening is widely promoted as a solution to rising temperatures. But can planting more trees actually make people feel hotter in some cities? A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers from IIT Gandhinagar and Northeastern University, USA examines this paradox. Instead of looking only at air temperature or land surface temperature, the study focused on the Heat Index (HI) which is the “feels like” temperature that combines heat and humidity because humans respond to both temperature and moisture in the air. The study finds that while urban trees generally help cool cities by providing shade, reducing incoming solar radiation, and lowering surface temperatures, these benefits vary in different cities. In humid cities, dense tree canopies can inadvertently increase heat stress by boosting evapotranspiration, which releases more moisture into the air. Where buildings are closely packed and airflow is restricted, this extra humidity can raise the Heat Index even if the air itself becomes cooler. On the other hand, semi-arid cities experience more consistent cooling because the drier atmosphere can absorb additional moisture without becoming uncomfortably humid. The study&#8217;s first author, Angana Borah, says the same tree can produce very different thermal comfort outcomes depending on where it is planted, the surrounding urban density and the local climate. As cities warm faster than their rural surroundings, climate-responsive greening is important, the study notes. Canopy structure plays a role The study analysed three different aspects of vegetation — EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index), LAI (Leaf Area Index) and fPAR (Fraction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/cooling-cities-needs-climate-smart-design-not-just-more-trees/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/cooling-cities-needs-climate-smart-design-not-just-more-trees/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>When trees replace grasslands, specialist birds lose their habitat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/when-trees-replace-grasslands-specialist-birds-lose-their-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/when-trees-replace-grasslands-specialist-birds-lose-their-habitat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 17:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[savanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[savannahs]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/02170908/PaddyfieldPipit_SiddhantMhetre_Anthus_Rufulus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38913</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, Grasslands, Impacts of Climate Change, Plantations, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s fast disappearing grasslands have long been targeted for afforestation — a practice that encourages tree planting on “degraded” parcels of land. With their vast and open landscapes, savannahs and grasslands are often considered barren land in need of more dense tree cover. But how does converting grassy, arid land to something woody and canopied [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s fast disappearing grasslands have long been targeted for afforestation — a practice that encourages tree planting on “degraded” parcels of land. With their vast and open landscapes, savannahs and grasslands are often considered barren land in need of more dense tree cover. But how does converting grassy, arid land to something woody and canopied transform an ecosystem, and the life within it? New research from Maharashtra studies how old-growth savannahs, when planted with trees, changes bird populations and distributions. Grasslands and savannahs are estimated to cover 15-20% of India’s land mass, and yet remain under-researched. The lack of recognition of grassland ecosystems has meant their role in regulating microclimates and hosting endemic biodiversity has largely gone unnoticed. “There are very few studies on dry savannahs in general, and even fewer on the impacts of afforestation on them,” said Abi T. Vanak, Director of the Centre for Policy Design at ATREE and a scholar of India&#8217;s grasslands. The study from Maharashtra compared bird species and abundance across undisturbed savannahs and well-established plantations, creating new evidence for how the impacts of afforestation go beyond just changes to tree cover. It found that afforestation rendered the area uninhabitable for grassland specialist species like the Indian courser — a long-legged bird which scans the grass to forage — and the tawny pipit, which nests on the ground — among a host of others. Instead, bird populations were maintained by an influx of other species better adapted to woody and forested habitats. The shift&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/when-trees-replace-grasslands-specialist-birds-lose-their-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/when-trees-replace-grasslands-specialist-birds-lose-their-habitat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India&#8217;s banks are sitting on a heat risk they have barely begun to price [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-banks-are-sitting-on-a-heat-risk-they-have-barely-begun-to-price-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-banks-are-sitting-on-a-heat-risk-they-have-barely-begun-to-price-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 13:21:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Namita Vikas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adaptation finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just transition finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Microfinance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reserve Bank of India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/29120153/AP26161536934509-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38831</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Extreme heat is emerging as a material and measurable risk category for India’s banking and financial sector. Heatwaves in 2025 reduced lender collection efficiency in the June quarter across field-dependent loan portfolios. There are similar projections for 2026 that suggest a further decline due to extreme heat across northern and central India. Extreme heat cuts [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Extreme heat is emerging as a material and measurable risk category for India’s banking and financial sector. Heatwaves in 2025 reduced lender collection efficiency in the June quarter across field-dependent loan portfolios. There are similar projections for 2026 that suggest a further decline due to extreme heat across northern and central India. Extreme heat cuts working hours and labour productivity, disrupts supply chains, raises operating costs for borrowers and ultimately, impacts repayment capacity. When collection slows, lenders themselves face a cash crunch. It forces banks to seek costlier short-term funding to meet their own obligations. Branch closures, staff limitations in high-heat zones and increased pressure on physical assets add an operational layer to a substantive credit and liquidity problem. The borrower segments most exposed to heat stress include microfinance clients, agricultural households, gold-loan borrowers and self-employed workers in the informal economy. They also happen to be the most financially vulnerable, given that their incomes depend heavily on physical mobility and outdoor labour, both of which are significantly constrained during periods of extreme heat. Reduced interaction between borrowers and field agents, fewer site visits, and disruptions across local demand and supply chains together contribute to repayment delays, constrained access to credit, and rising borrowing costs across rural and informal markets. One happens at the household level where daily wage workers and farmers see their incomes fall when extreme heat forces them to work fewer hours or damages their crops, making it harder to keep up with loan repayments. Second, at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-banks-are-sitting-on-a-heat-risk-they-have-barely-begun-to-price-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-banks-are-sitting-on-a-heat-risk-they-have-barely-begun-to-price-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>El Niño forecast increases likelihood of weak monsoon and water stress</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/el-nino-forecast-increases-likelihood-of-weak-monsoon-and-water-stress/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/el-nino-forecast-increases-likelihood-of-weak-monsoon-and-water-stress/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2026 11:50:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/18104433/AP721800276528-e1781759817344-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38707</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Drought, and Extreme Weather Events]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Global meteorological agencies have confirmed El Niño is here. In India, El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are expected to intensify as the southwest monsoon progresses, confirms the India Meteorological Department’s June bulletin. Experts say the developing El Niño should be treated as a serious climate risk and an early warning, urging timely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Global meteorological agencies have confirmed El Niño is here. In India, El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are expected to intensify as the southwest monsoon progresses, confirms the India Meteorological Department’s June bulletin. Experts say the developing El Niño should be treated as a serious climate risk and an early warning, urging timely planning and preparedness rather than alarm. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and are converging on the increasing likelihood of the El Niño event developing to a moderate to strong event in the next few months. “There was a high likelihood of El Niño developing during June-August 2026, with probabilities around 80%. The probability of El Niño conditions continuing through August to November is near or above 90%,” says Barbara Tapia Cortes, WMO Technical Coordinator (Services). Recent updates about a developing El Niño have triggered a wave of headlines warning of droughts, heatwaves and monsoon disruptions, sparking concerns globally. However, while El Niño has been confirmed and is likely to strengthen further, there is still considerable uncertainty about its intensity and impacts on India. Cortes explains, “The impacts depend on the event’s intensity, duration, timing and interaction with other climate drivers.” For India, where agriculture, water resources, and urban water supplies remain closely tied to monsoon performance, even a moderate El Niño could have significant consequences. “The emerging 2026-27 El Niño should be treated as a serious climate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/el-nino-forecast-increases-likelihood-of-weak-monsoon-and-water-stress/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/el-nino-forecast-increases-likelihood-of-weak-monsoon-and-water-stress/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Science confirms what Indians experience: nights are now warmer</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/science-confirms-what-indians-experience-nights-are-now-warmer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/science-confirms-what-indians-experience-nights-are-now-warmer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2026 13:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mahima Jain]]>
						</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 wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/04104357/AP24166173832672-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38501</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, and Extreme Weather Events]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indians are increasingly experiencing nights differently in summers. Nights have become warmer than before, something even the India Meteorological Department is increasingly mentioning in its bulletins. Minimum temperatures, recorded late night or early morning when the sun’s down, have risen. The IMD’s seasonal outlook for April to June 2026 predicted that maximum temperatures are likely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indians are increasingly experiencing nights differently in summers. Nights have become warmer than before, something even the India Meteorological Department is increasingly mentioning in its bulletins. Minimum temperatures, recorded late night or early morning when the sun’s down, have risen. The IMD’s seasonal outlook for April to June 2026 predicted that maximum temperatures are likely to be normal to below normal in this period in many parts of the country. However, minimum temperatures, or the lowest temperatures in a 24-hour cycle, are expected to remain above normal over most parts of India. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), on the other hand, noted recently that an El Niño is likely to develop in 2026 — an 80% chance of it forming in the June-August period and a high chance of it persisting into late 2026. This could result in above average temperatures and a greater risk of heatwaves, droughts, floods, and other weather extremes worldwide. Many parts of India are witnessing unusually high minimum temperatures, with several locations recording minimum temperatures close to 30°C. In the last week of May, IMD observations indicated that minimum night temperatures were warmer than normal by 3.1°C to 5.0°C. A warm night, as per IMD&#8217;s definitions, is when the night-time temperature is at least 4.5-6.4°C above normal and when maximum temperatures are or more than 40°C. “A very warm night is when the departure (of minimum temperature from normal) is over 6.4°C,” S.D. Sanap, a scientist at Climate Research Services, IMD Pune, explains. This threshold&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/science-confirms-what-indians-experience-nights-are-now-warmer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A strong El Niño demands planning, not panic [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 17:27:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Madhavan Nair Rajeevan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/03163434/AP25240537416263-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38495</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Science, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, Monsoons, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several global climate agencies have recently indicated the possible development of a very severe El Niño by the end of this year, along with concerns regarding its potential global impacts, including on the Indian monsoon. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterised by sustained warming of sea surface temperatures over the central and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several global climate agencies have recently indicated the possible development of a very severe El Niño by the end of this year, along with concerns regarding its potential global impacts, including on the Indian monsoon. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterised by sustained warming of sea surface temperatures over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean for several consecutive months. It represents the warm phase of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which also includes its opposite phase, La Niña, and a neutral phase. Variations in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures associated with El Niño alter global atmospheric circulation patterns and influence rainfall, droughts, storms, agriculture, water resources, marine ecosystems, and economies across many regions of the world, including India. The intensity of El Niño is commonly monitored using sea surface temperature anomalies over the Niño 3.4 region of the equatorial central Pacific Ocean. An El Niño event is declared when the three-month running mean sea surface temperature anomaly in the Niño 3.4 region remains at least +0.5°C above normal for five consecutive overlapping three-month seasons. El Niño events are further classified based on the magnitude of these temperature anomalies. When the Niño 3.4 anomaly exceeds +2.0°C, the event is generally categorised as a very strong El Niño (informally a “super” El Niño). Since 1951, 28 El Niño events of varying intensity have occurred, most of them weak. The most recent El Niño developed in 2023. The current outlook Recent observations indicate rapid warming of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Both daytime and nighttime temperatures have risen: IMD chief [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 13:20:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India Meteorological Department’]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[temperature rise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Meteorological Organisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29112801/imd-collage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38422</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Monsoons, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, forecasting systems are also undergoing a rapid transformation. In an interview with Mongabay-India, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the director general of meteorology at IMD, discusses changing heatwave patterns, the growing role of humidity and warm nights, the evolution of impact-based forecasting, and the challenges climate change poses for weather prediction. Mongabay: In the recent years, what changes has IMD been observing in the nature of heatwaves? Mrutyunjay Mohapatra: Our data from 1970 to 2020 suggests a rise in the maximum (daytime), minimum (nighttime) and mean temperatures. As a result, the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves are increasing. With rising temperatures, humidity in the atmosphere also increases. For every 1° Celsius rise in temperature (of planet Earth), there is around a 7% increase in relative humidity (the air can hold 7% more moisture). As a result, even if the temperature on a particular day remains similar to what it was in the past, discomfort levels are higher in a changing climate. The ‘feels-like’ temperature increases due to humidity. There is a rise in both daytime and nighttime temperatures. If daytime temperatures exceed 40°C and nights remain warm, people do not get sufficient relief or proper sleep, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Local land-atmosphere processes influence heatwaves</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 15:59:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/21135248/AP26141206399559-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38297</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other regions, the study says. Recognising these local precursors of extreme heat events is essential for improving early warning systems and helping communities prepare. The scientists examined the role of anticyclones — large-scale high-pressure systems in the atmosphere, often spanning hundreds of kilometres — in the formation of 10 major pre-monsoon heatwave episodes between 2010 and 2024. The anticyclones have previously been thought to transport warm air into the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The new study, however, shows that even under the same large-scale anticyclones, two very different types of heatwaves can form, depending on local factors. These two types of heatwaves are moist and dry heatwaves. Moist heatwaves develop in areas that received pre-monsoon showers, which wet the soil, Karthikeyan Lanka, Associate Professor at IIT Bombay’s Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering (CSRE), Centre for Climate Studies, and one of the study authors, says. When strong sunshine follows, the soil releases moisture into the air. At night, this moisture forms low clouds that act like a blanket, trapping the day&#8217;s heat close to the ground and preventing the land from cooling, Lanka explained to Mongabay-India. Over several days, heat steadily builds up and a heatwave sets in,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>What a warming Pacific could mean for India&#8217;s monsoon and farming</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-warming-pacific-could-mean-for-indias-monsoon-and-farming/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-warming-pacific-could-mean-for-indias-monsoon-and-farming/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 15:59:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Max Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[floods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian monsoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[La Niña]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monsoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ocean warming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/20142230/AP24173849920044-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38260</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Science, Extreme Weather Events, Global Warming, Impacts of Climate Change, and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Under the blazing May sun in Karnataka’s semi-arid Kolar district, farmer Nagaraj N. is digging yet another borewell to protect his mulberry and paddy fields. Groundwater levels are falling in Channasandra village, where he lives, and he is unsure whether local canals will supply enough water if the monsoon falters. With forecasts hinting at a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Under the blazing May sun in Karnataka’s semi-arid Kolar district, farmer Nagaraj N. is digging yet another borewell to protect his mulberry and paddy fields. Groundwater levels are falling in Channasandra village, where he lives, and he is unsure whether local canals will supply enough water if the monsoon falters. With forecasts hinting at a possible El Niño later this year, he is taking no chances. Across India, climate forecasters are watching the Pacific with similar unease. As global weather agencies warn of a possible strong El Niño — a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific that can disrupt weather worldwide — concern is growing in India over a weaker monsoon, water stress and crop losses. “The latest climate model predictions suggest the development of a severe El Niño over the Pacific Ocean,” said Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, Vice Chancellor of Atria University, Bengaluru, and former Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Some models indicate the event could become strong, with sustained warming in the central tropical Pacific exceeding 1.5°C. “Abnormally warm waters are already present below the ocean surface across the equatorial Pacific,” Rajeevan said, adding that this subsurface heat could further strengthen the event, with a likely peak around November or December 2026. “The warming could be more than 2°C,” he told Mongabay-India. The implications could be significant. “This event could have major impacts, including on the Indian monsoon. Not every El Niño leads to a poor monsoon, but if this becomes a severe event, we could see&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-warming-pacific-could-mean-for-indias-monsoon-and-farming/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>As temperatures rise, cattle industry feels the strain</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 13:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Himanshu Arya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle breeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dairy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dairy sector]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/19103203/AP207690559431-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38234</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Jagdish Agrahari, a resident of Sultanpur in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, started rearing cattle in August 2025 and selling milk to supplement his income. He has four jersey cows, one Holstein Friesian, and three buffaloes. Agrahari&#8217;s jersey cows fell sick during the weather-changing season in March, as they failed to adjust to the sudden increase [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Jagdish Agrahari, a resident of Sultanpur in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, started rearing cattle in August 2025 and selling milk to supplement his income. He has four jersey cows, one Holstein Friesian, and three buffaloes. Agrahari&#8217;s jersey cows fell sick during the weather-changing season in March, as they failed to adjust to the sudden increase in temperature. The treatment bill came to ₹20,000. He can manage the costs, he says, only because he and his two brothers also run a scrap shop. But most of the 80 million rural households that rely on cattle rearing and dairy for their livelihood have limited capacity to bear rising costs. These farmers have played an important role in the growth of India’s dairy sector over the last two decades. During this period, milk production increased from around 80 million tonnes in 2000 to 239 million tonnes in 2023. However, these gains are now under growing pressure as climate change begins to disrupt India’s cattle economy. A recent study by the New Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), says that more than half (54%) of buffalo rearers reported climate-related impacts on their animals. The study claims that half of those rearing crossbred or exotic cattle and 41% of Indigenous rearers report similar impacts. The impact of climate change ranges from increased disease rates, restlessness, and mortality among bovines to reduced productivity and threats to the livelihoods and nutritional security of cattle rearers, it says. Shorter lactation periods, fewer productive days,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Climate change and tourism are reshaping farming in the Himalayas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/climate-change-and-tourism-are-reshaping-farming-in-the-himalayas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/climate-change-and-tourism-are-reshaping-farming-in-the-himalayas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2026 12:20:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rozita Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weather patterns]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/14112402/AP19130602267775-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38167</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Himalayas, Impacts of Climate Change, Land Rights, Mountains, and Tourism]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[​For generations, farmers in Bir village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district have relied on seasonal rhythms to guide when to sow and harvest crops. Today, many residents say those patterns no longer hold. ​“Earlier, the rains came at the right time. Now, when crops need sunshine, it rains instead. Summers have become hotter too,” says [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[​For generations, farmers in Bir village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district have relied on seasonal rhythms to guide when to sow and harvest crops. Today, many residents say those patterns no longer hold. ​“Earlier, the rains came at the right time. Now, when crops need sunshine, it rains instead. Summers have become hotter too,” says Sarla Devi, 60, a farmer and cattle rearer from Bir. ​Situated in the mid-Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, the Bir-Billing area has long supported small farms growing grains, vegetables, and fodder crops. Bir village lies at roughly 1,525 metres above sea level. But residents say erratic rainfall, warmer winters, and sudden weather shifts are affecting crop cycles and making agriculture less predictable. ​Scientific findings echo these concerns. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report notes that mountain regions, including the Hindu Kush Himalaya, are experiencing increasing temperatures and changing seasonal weather patterns, while shifts in temperature and precipitation are affecting the timing and availability of water for agricultural activities. ​At the same time, climate pressures are unfolding alongside rapid land-use change. Bir and nearby Billing, internationally known as a paragliding destination, have seen steady growth in guesthouses, cafés, and tourism infrastructure over the past decade. Residents say agricultural land is increasingly being sold or repurposed for construction. Rain clouds seen over Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. Representative image. ​Residents say erratic rainfall, warmer winters, and sudden weather shifts are affecting crop cycles and making agriculture less predictable. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) ​Older residents&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/climate-change-and-tourism-are-reshaping-farming-in-the-himalayas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Workers groups are pushing for legal protections against deadly heat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/workers-groups-are-pushing-for-legal-protections-against-deadly-heat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/workers-groups-are-pushing-for-legal-protections-against-deadly-heat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 19:23:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gig workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/13171049/AP20138243285483-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38109</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Human Rights, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several labour unions have demanded, in writing, that India’s labour codes be reformed to include more explicit provisions for working in extreme heat. Record-breaking heat in recent years has moved government bodies to issue advisories urging employers to reschedule working hours and make drinking water available to workers. But workers say this isn’t enough in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several labour unions have demanded, in writing, that India’s labour codes be reformed to include more explicit provisions for working in extreme heat. Record-breaking heat in recent years has moved government bodies to issue advisories urging employers to reschedule working hours and make drinking water available to workers. But workers say this isn’t enough in the face of life-threatening heat. &#8220;Advisories don&#8217;t scare anybody, so no one is compelled to comply with them,&#8221; said Nirmal Gorana, National coordinator of the Gig &amp; Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). Working in conditions where ambient temperatures are sustained above 32°C are found to raise the risk of heat-related illness significantly. For India’s largely informal workforce, this type of exposure can be deadly. Workers and researchers woke up to this reality in 2024 — India’s hottest year on record — when temperatures crossed 40°C for several days and resulted in more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases. “That year really shaped public opinion about the importance of improving safety measures against heat,&#8221; said Aravind Unni, an urban practitioner and researcher on informality and urban spaces. Each degree rise in temperature is estimated to reduce annual plant output by 2% and worker productivity by 2-4%, but India’s labour laws haven’t kept pace with these impacts. In 2020, India’s numerous labour laws were simplified and consolidated into four distinct codes — the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety. The codes were modified to include platform and gig workers, and expanded social security and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/workers-groups-are-pushing-for-legal-protections-against-deadly-heat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Could wildfires in Canada have affected India’s monsoon? New research suggests it’s possible</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/could-wildfires-in-canada-have-affected-indias-monsoon-new-research-suggests-its-possible/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/could-wildfires-in-canada-have-affected-indias-monsoon-new-research-suggests-its-possible/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2026 20:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monsoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildfires]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/01185702/Mumbai_monsoon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37997</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Forest Fires]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the worst recorded wildfires ripped through Canada in 2023, scientists didn’t expect to see its effects take shape in far corners of the world. Yet, the magnitude of the disaster was so large that it may have interfered with atmospheric circulation systems thousands of kilometers away – in India. “When we started this research, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the worst recorded wildfires ripped through Canada in 2023, scientists didn’t expect to see its effects take shape in far corners of the world. Yet, the magnitude of the disaster was so large that it may have interfered with atmospheric circulation systems thousands of kilometers away – in India. “When we started this research, we didn’t set out to see what the impacts would be on the Indian monsoon. It just happened during our simulations,” said Iulian-Alin Roşu, a post doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Climate Change, Technical University of Crete, who simulated the global impacts of the wildfire emissions using a climate model. The wildfires in Canada raged from May to July, engulfing 15 million hectares of land and emitting almost almost 480 megatons of carbon and 10,700 kilotons of particulate matter (PM2.5). These smoke particles and aerosols were transported across continents and oceans, causing a direct impact on air quality in Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe. Roşu and his co-authors found that the aerosols from the wildfires could have contributed to atmospheric cooling over the northern hemisphere, by blocking the sun’s radiation into Earth. This same cooling effect, extending to the northern Arabian Sea, could have contributed to a “pronounced low-level pressure anomaly over the Asian continent” which weakened monsoonal winds over India in August 2023. The study was published in the Natural Hazards journal in February. What caused dryness in August 2023? As the wildfires abated in Canada, India&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/could-wildfires-in-canada-have-affected-indias-monsoon-new-research-suggests-its-possible/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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