Highlights from the issue

Highlights from the issue

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Sunita Narain's Desk: Let’s not bury our heads in sand

Illustration: Yogendra Anand

The youth are angry and out on the streets because we have failed them

Cover story: Great migration

Illustrations: Yogendra Anand / CSE with AI Assistance

Climate change is redrawing the map of life on Earth. As species move towards the poles, mountain summits and deeper waters, shrinking habitats and blocked migration routes leave their survival far from certain

Cover story: When the silver fish leaves home

silver fish

Climate change, dams and overfishing are shifting the prized fish’s migration routes. Only coordinated action across the Bay of Bengal can secure its future

Special report: Unusual peak

Peak power demand in 2026 touched 269 GW on September 10, just 1 GW below the year’s 270 GW peak recorded  in May
Peak power demand in 2026 touched 269 GW on September 10, just 1 GW below the year’s 270 GW peak recorded in MayVikas Choudhary / CSE

A surge in power demand in September exposes India’s growing cooling and irrigation load as weak monsoon strains power supply

First take: Planet's super and hyper crisis

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

The ongoing El Niño may surpass previous events in intensity, impacts and economic losses

Special report: Reservoir of discontent

Social worker P Prabhakaran at Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland near Karikattu Kuppam village in Tamil Nadu
Social worker P Prabhakaran at Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland near Karikattu Kuppam village in Tamil NaduHari Krishna

Chennai’s Rs 471-crore Mamallan reservoir threatens fishers’ livelihoods and biodiversity in the Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland

Special report: Slow burn

Wayanad is losing its cool: India’s closely watched Western Ghats hill district is getting warmer
Photo: K A Shaji

A uniquely detailed mapping of Wayanad’s heat, soil and moisture shows the landslide-prone district is getting warmer by the year

Special report: A stitch in time

Farmer Dyaneshwar Dound of Masai village, Jalna, says residents have repaired and constructed water harvesting structures, such as barrages and bunds, to arrest every rain spell for recharging groundwater
Farmer Dyaneshwar Dound of Masai village, Jalna, says residents have repaired and constructed water harvesting structures, such as barrages and bunds, to arrest every rain spell for recharging groundwater Himanshu Nitnaware / CSE

As many as 37 villages across the three districts in drought-hit Marathwada region have planned for water scarcity till next year’s monsoon

Analysis: From tradition to trade

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

Entrepreneurs are turning traditional crops and wild foods into businesses, but need government support to create demand, cut costs and build viable markets

Patently absurd: Between brilliance and stasis in research

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

India has islands of scientific excellence that are globally recognised, but the ecosystem is hidebound and structurally flawed

Opinion: Lost to blind spot

Illustration: Yogendra Anand / CSE

IUCN’s ‘data deficient’ category of species was designed to prompt research on their extinction risk. Instead, it has become an excuse for inaction

Opinion: Second act

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

Repurposing abandoned mine infrastructure can create local livelihoods and reduce demolition waste, but unclear rules on asset transfer remain a barrier

Opinion: Feeding the conflict

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

Habitat loss, urban food access and fragmented action fuel macaque menace

Book review: Unfinished business

Illustration: Yogendra Anand/CSE

A commemorative volume from the Indian National Science Academy  reveals the gap between scientific achievement and the alleviation of everyday drudgery

Civil Lines: Overarching development deficit

 In 2025, there were 1.2 billion multidimensionally poor people in the world
In 2025, there were 1.2 billion multidimensionally poor people in the worldiStock

Multidimensional poverty is being eradicated, but its rate is not outpacing population growth