Family plants over 6000 trees in Mumbai and inspires communities
The high noon sun makes it tough to inspect the shrubs and plants in the butterfly park without squinting. Despite the harsh conditions, the Athalye family - Sandeep, his wife,…
‘Green walls’ can help combat desertification, says IPCC report
Asserting that the range and intensity of desertification have increased in some dryland areas over the past several decades, a latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)…
As floods repeat this year in Kerala, experts point to climate change
In Kerala, it looks like climate-change-induced floods are becoming an annual affair. Following heavy rains over the last one week, the state which once boasted consistent rains during the monsoon…
Spotlighting the rising stars: Neglected crops in saline areas in a changing climate
As salt-spoiled soils increase across the world, can neglected and underutilised crop species be the rising stars in sustainable agriculture in salinisation-hit countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh? Spotlighting…
Can climate-resilient clones save Darjeeling tea?
Like many tea drinkers across the country who can’t imagine life without their favourite cuppa, Debasree Majumder’s day starts and ends with her staple Darjeeling tea. “I have four cups…
There’s bajra in my beer!
As you sip the freshly brewed craft beer, there is nothing to indicate the pale brew is generously infused with bajra, or pearl millet, a grain that has been grown…
What is cloud seeding?
Dreaming of a perfect blue-sky and rain-free wedding day? A luxury travel company promises to do just that for a price with the help of cloud seeding, a commonly used…
[Interview] “Addressing climate change and biodiversity loss is in India’s best economic and developmental interests”
A landmark report released earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, was a stark reminder that life on this planet, in all…
She guards Mumbai’s defence against climate change
Fifty-six-year-old Seema Adgaonkar glides through swampy mangroves in ankle-deep muck. The fragrance of Avicennia marina (the grey mangrove), the most widely-spread mangrove species in Mumbai, makes the trail pleasant despite…
[Interview] “Avoiding the risk of land degradation is fundamental to any response to climate change”
Barron Joseph Orr, lead scientist at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is at the forefront of the UN body’s efforts to tackle land degradation. The UNCCD was…
