The Western Indian Himalayan Region is more prone to risks from climate change compared to the Eastern Himalayan ranges, a new climate risk index, designed by researchers from the Indian…
The installation of solar water pumps has transformed the lives of the Buddhist nuns at the Pangmo Monastery in Himachal Pradesh, enabling them to maintain their daily prayer routine, especially…
After the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the Himalayan wolf as ‘vulnerable’ in its Red List of Threatened Species in 2023, wildlife experts are pushing for stronger…
Between the towering Pir Panjal and Zanskar ranges in the Himalayas, lies one of the largest pasturelands called Thanpattan, spanning approximately 570 square kilometres. As I walked the pastureland in…
Last week I was in a group travelling in the Himalayas. Starting from the plains of Punjab, we travelled by road to an altitude of above 11,000 feet, to Chitkul,…
The hilly state of Himachal Pradesh is limping back to normalcy after a tumultuous monsoon season. The number of fatalities during the monsoon season in the state this year is around…
The government-run afforestation activities in Himachal Pradesh have increased the vulnerability of pastoralists, leading to expansion of invasive species, as well as hindrance in seamless connectivity to green pastures. As…
The summer of 2022 was unkind for the 30-odd farmers of Tandi village in Himachal Pradesh’s cold desert. Over 50% of their crops in the village in Lahaul and Spiti…
At an altitude of 3,900 metres, in the mountainous Himachal Pradesh, thin Bhoj trees (Himalayan birch or Betula utilus), dominate the landscape, an area known locally as Tapa-phraun (tapa meaning…
Roshan Lal, 66, is livid. He is yet to come to terms with the damage caused to a forest near his village, that caught fire on June 12. Lal, an…
In October 2021, an eight-storeyed building in Shimla collapsed after heavy rains triggered a landslide. The building was evacuated well before the collapse. But the tragedy exposed the pressure being…
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn,” says author Hal Borland. But it seems in 2022, spring forgot its annual appointment with northern India as a usually pleasant…
India’s growing energy requirements have made Kinnaur a major hub of hydro projects in Himachal Pradesh, particularly over the past two to three decades. As a result, there has been…
The Spiti Valley of Himachal is a trans-Himalayan desert where people survive on only one farming season. The Spiti river is the lifeline for agricultural communities in this region. But…
For every dollar that goes into tree plantation programmes, at least half is wasted, according to an analysis of tree planting data in India’s Himachal Pradesh. The study sheds light…
Reena Devi used to spend a good six to seven hours in one day, in the jungle around her house in Koti, Shimla, until last year. She would leave her…
Almost eight years ago, on March 25, 2014, at least 31 women from Jharauta village in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh were arrested for protesting against the commencement of the…
Himachal Pradesh, a state that has five important perennial rivers fed particularly by glaciers, has witnessed a decline in snowfall over the past year. The area under snow cover in…
Around 20 years ago, Karmo Devi, a resident of Majra village in Himachal Pradesh’s largest industrial area, Nalagarh, dug a well for drinking water. For 20 consecutive years, she and…
Researchers have found a snake species new to science in the Himalayas — on Instagram! During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Virender Bhardwaj, a master’s student at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, explored…