Environmental activists in Mizoram have slammed the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) for not following environmental laws and regulations, while undertaking highway projects in the state. These projects…
As Indian cities expand, concerns about their rising food demand and the accompanying pressure on the agriculture sector cannot be ignored. Indian agriculture is already under scrutiny for being one…
A clutch of recent modeling efforts suggests pathways that India could take to move to a fully renewable energy-driven electricity system by 2050, but concerns about cost and storage remain.…
Heatwaves, floods, flash droughts and cyclones are increasingly becoming regular events in India. The cities facing such climate events have been experiencing high economic losses and loss of lives due…
In 2018, activist Gopal Jhaveri in Mumbai, discovered that four coconut trees in his area, Borivali, had been poisoned by miscreants to achieve a clear view for an advertisement hoarding.…
“When you switch the fan on, the air inside the room blows like fire,” 50-year-old Dolena Khatoon says with an emphasis on the word aagun which means ‘fire’ in the…
In the months of June, July and August 2018, Kerala experienced the worst floods in its history since 1924. During this time, the state received rainfall that was 42 percent…
Sixty-one people died and 18 were injured after a massive landslide hit the construction site of Tupul Railway station on June 30. The Tupul substation is situated in Manipur’s Noney…
“There was water till my waist,” recalls Tarun Rajkhowa, a 70-year-old resident of Guwahati city’s Rukminigaon area. In mid-June this year, when incessant rains inundated parts of the city, Rajkhowa…
Imagine a residential complex in a city such as Indore or Surat in the year 2030. If it looks like the high-rises being built in these cities today, it will…
With heatwaves setting in early, stretching on longer and with more intensity, heat action plans now need to account for the changing heat risks and differing vulnerability of exposed population…
The summer of 2022 has been particularly harsh all over India, with unrelenting heat spells signalling evolving climatic systems. With March being declared as the hottest in the India Meteorological…
On the edge of the National Highway 31 in Assam, where floodwater had completely submerged the paddy fields, 43-year-old Rahisuddin was waiting with his wife and five children. Rahisuddin, a…
A recent study reveals that unsustainable urbanisation is driving intense groundwater depletion in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. As the city’s population continues to rise (62% from 2001 to 2020), the immense…
Water in India has always been perceived from a lens of public good rather than an economic commodity. A sense of ownership is missing among users as they abstract water…
Black kites have a vantage view of Indian cities. The ubiquitous bird has adjusted to urban areas and lives close to humans. The sight of these birds of prey occupying Delhi’s…
The mid-morning ambience in the wild patch of ground beside my home is consumed with the ecstatic hum of many busy bees. And while news of their staggering contribution to…
This summer it will be thirty years since the Rio Earth Summit. Unlike the earlier decadal anniversaries, this year the United Nations is not celebrating an event to mark the…
Urban heat islands or UHIs are metropolitan areas that are significantly warmer than the surrounding rural areas. The occurrence of a UHI was recorded as early as 1810 by Luke…
In June 2020, 20-year-old Arnav Gandhe was on a birding visit to Pune’s Mahatma hill, an offshoot of the biodiverse Western Ghats. He was about to wrap up for the…
