Down to Earth Photo Gallery | Pictures by Down To Earth

Gallery

Natural Disasters

How damaging Cyclone Amphan was for the Sundarbans

Cyclone Amphan caused major damage across south Bengal, including the Sundarbans and across the Odisha coast on May 20, 2020. Communication infrastructure, including telephone networks, were damaged in the Sundarbans.

YOUNG

Days of COVID-19 confinement: How school-goers are dealing with lockdown

Nearly 90% of the world’s children are reportedly confined at their homes due to …

Natural Disasters

Typhoon Ambo increases challenges for Philippines during COVID-19

Typhoon Vongfong, known locally as Ambo, made landfall in the Philippines on May 14, …

YOUNG

Lockdown no bar for the young artist

Pen, paper, paintbrush and lots of colours! Beating the gloom of the lockdown through art, these young artists have decided to spread hope and love in the world through their paintings, posters and doodles. Here's a look

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Millions of baby turtles emerged from their shells on April 23, 2020, at the Gahiramatha Wildlife Sanctuary, the world's largest rookery of Olive Ridley turtles. They emerged 40 days after female turtles built nests on the beach and laid eggs in them. Pho

Running the gauntlet at Gahiramatha

Every year, Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings traverse a small distance in Odisha's Gahiramatha Sanctuary to take the plunge into life, literally

Science & Technology

Hubble space telescope celebrates 30th anniversary

The Hubble Space Telescope — responsible for significantly expanding mankind's understanding of the universe — celebrated its 30th anniversary in space on April 24, 2020. Down To Earth brings you some of the most breath-taking images the telescope has captured.

Wildlife & Biodiversity

The world has gone into a lockdown ever since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) broke out last December. As humans have been forced into confinement in their homes, wild animals have been seen entering human habitations, even big cities. Like the f

Earth Day 2020: Wildlife runs wild amid COVID-19

With humans across the world cooped up in their homes due to COVID-19, wild animals have made appearances in human-dominated areas

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Most of the media focus on wildlife poaching in India revolves around charismatic species like tigers, elephants and rhinos for use of their body parts in traditional Chinese medicine. A new study has revealed that a species like the jackal too is poached

Yes, jackals are poached in India too

Jackals, those tricksters of our folktales, are poached too, but for reasons entirely different from charismatic species

YOUNG

Kolkata gully kids to grown-ups: Beware of coronavirus

A few kids at a Kolkata slum were perturbed over how some adults were not taking the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic seriously enough. Aged between 14 and 17 years, they came up with a series of posters to communicate the importance of hand hygiene and social distancing. Here are the lessons from the young ones.

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Amid the gloom of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, a rhino breeding-cum-conservation centre has begun in Patna Zoo. Photo: Mohd Imran Khan

Amid gloom of COVID-19, rhino breeding centre begins at Patna zoo

The first pair of one-horned rhinos named Ganesh and Lali have been released into the pen

Economy

A mother returns with her children to Arjuni village after collecting mahua. The village's residents are usually dependent on farming, but the lack of rain, coupled with the lockdown has forced villagers and their families to collect mahua. Photo: Avdhesh

COVID-19: Chhattisgarh villagers turn to mahua collection to offset farming losses

The 21-day nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has turned life upside down for most; Take Arjuni village in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar-Bhatpara district: Farming has taken a hit and villagers have now taken to collecting mahua flowers.

Governance

A deserted view of Connaught Place, New Delhi, on the first day of country-wide lockdown.

India locked down, but challenges remain

As India entered a 21-day lockdown on March 25, 2020 in a bid to contain COVID-19 spread, thousands of daily wage labourers and migrant workers were left with nowhere to go. While some streets were eerily deserted, some were dotted with workers heading back home — on foot

Health

At an Idgah in Old Mustafabad that was turned into a relief camp for the victims of northeast Delhi riots. The camp was set up by the Delhi Waqf Board on March 1, 2020. The violence claimed 53 lives between February 23 and 26, 2020 and left over 200 injur

Picking up the pieces, at Mustafabad camp

Days after riots broke out in northeast Delhi, doctors and volunteers came together at Mustafabad relief camp to offer a healing touch to those affected

Wildlife & Biodiversity

The Conference of Whole (COW) at the ongoing 13th Conference of Parties of the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animal (CMS) in Gandhinagar proposed to include 10 species, including the Indian/Asian elephant in Appendix I and II of

A step forward for conservation at CMS COP 13

Ten different species, including three from India have been recommended to be added in Appendix I and II of the CMS CoP 13

Economy

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation will introduce a 'Krishi Udaan' scheme to help farmers export their produce internationally. Trouble is there is hardly any budgetary allocation for the scheme.

Simply Put: How far will Nirmala Sitharaman's longest budget take India?

Down To Earth's Graphic Editor Sorit Gupto decodes the comparatives and superlatives of Union Budget 2020-21

Climate Change

The smoke from Australia's bushfires has spread across the globe, Nasa's satellite images have shown. The fires that started in late September last year, peaked around the New Year and killed both humans and animals. It also threw up a lot of smoke into t

Australia's smoke, around the world

Images from Nasa satellites show that smoke from the continent's bushfires has spread into the stratosphere and around the world, Nasa has revealed

Governance

Delhi, the capital of India, is also its second most populous city. It draws hordes of migrants, who come in search of better lives. However, with the city failing to meet the needs of all migrants, many do not get even that most basic necessity: shelter.

Cold, damp and homeless in Delhi

As the national capital shivers in its coldest winter in a century, its homeless crowd around fires on pavements to pass the freezing nights

Waste

Wealth out of waste: The story of Bengaluru's rag pickers

These photos tell how rag collectors clean up the sprawling tech hub and boost recycling

Wildlife & Biodiversity

On November 10, 2019, tourists visiting Sambhar lake in Rajasthan's Jaipur district, made a grisly discovery. Photo by Vikas Choudhary

Sambhar: The lake where thousands of birds died

Toxicity is being suspected, as is avian disease. But none are confirmed

Pollution

Carneiros Beach on the coast of Pernambuco State. Photo: Clemente Coelho Júnior/Instituto Bioma Brasil

Look how oil spill affects health, environment in Brazil

Oil spill has spread across 2,500 kilometres since September, and has reached 92 municipalities and 14 conservation units in nine states

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Something is amiss on the landmass of Eurasia. Birds that usually come to winter in Northern India in November, have appeared in autumn itself like these Eurasian Coots in the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana. Photo by Vikas Choudhary

Could climate change have brought Delhi's winter birds early?

Migratory birds, which should have come to northern India by November, have appeared in September and October itself

Science & Technology

During the twilight hour on August 8, 2019, the blue hour panorama scanned along the clear western sky and looked down at Mt Whitney, from along the John Muir Trail towards the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Belt of Venus seems to be bordering the fall

Nasa unveils the stellar cosmos

Here are some of the images the American space agency selected to feature “our fascinating universe”

Agriculture

This year's Pushkar animal fair was disappointing as far as the main attraction, the camel is concerned. Photo by Vikas Choudhary

Will India's camels amble forever into the sunset?

Decreasing use of camels in agriculture and transportation, diminishing pasturelands and an erroneous legislation by the Rajasthan government is contributing to the slow death of the camel

Wildlife & Biodiversity

The recent Amazon fires, which devastated huge swathes of the world's largest rainforest, took a toll on the ecosystem's animal life like this dead pig in the municipality of Lucas do Rio Verde on August 20. Photo: Corpo de Bombeiros Militar do Estado de

Amazonian wildlife: Collateral damage of the inferno

The fires that raged and are still raging in the Amazon rainforest, have had an impact on not just human lives but also animals

Climate Change

The Friday after; India comes out calling for climate action

Children and adults protest demanding better policies against climate change from government