‘The difference between Chernobyl and Fukushima wildlife is the wolf is extinct in Japan’

Down To Earth speaks to James Smith from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom about the proliferation of wildlife in the two accident sites

COVID-19 shouldn’t deter developed countries from Paris Agreement pledges: Bangladesh minister

Cooperation between India and Bangladesh on Sundarbans will lead to win-win situation, says Hasan Mahmud 

‘February 7 appears to be what I would call a rock avalanche’

Down To Earth speaks to Daniel Shugar from the University of Calgary in Canada on what exactly could have happened in Chamoli

'Female health workers played a critical role in making Africa wild polio-free'

Tunji Funsho, who led the effort to make Nigeria wild polio-free, says COVID-19 is a setback to the last mile of polio eradication

Sudden stratospheric warmings: Why cold winters may persist

Down To Earth spoke to UK climate researcher Richard Hall about the relationship between the climatic phenomenon and global warming  

‘WONDER app can make the difference in improving maternal care’

Down To Earth speaks to gynaecologist and obstetrician Narmadha Kuppuswami about the WONDER app that she has developed

‘We will only wake up when sal trees have been driven to the brink of extinction’

The ‘treeman of Delhi’, Pradip Krishen talks to Down To Earth about the recent decision to cut 2,500 British-era sal trees on the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border

Tagore’s ideals couldn’t have inspired Modi’s National Education Policy 2020: Veteran educationist Pabitra Sarkar

The PM, also Visva Bharati chancellor, spoke at the inauguration of the university’s centenary celebration and tried hard to associate his government’s agenda with Rabindranath. But how much of a common ground is there?

‘Futures trading can bring efficiency to California’s water sector’

Michael Kiparsky from the University of California tells Down To Earth that fears about futures trading in water commoditising it are overblown

‘One snow leopard gets killed every day’

As India has a sizeable proportion of the global snow leopard distribution range, it has an important role to play in conservation of the world’s wild snow leopard populations, expert Koustubh Sharma tells Down To Earth

Taking farm laws to Supreme Court won’t dampen farmers’ protests: Kerala agriculture minister

Kerala’s decision to move the apex court against Modi government’s new farm laws have sparked discussions. DTE spoke to minister VS Sunil Kumar on the thinking behind the move

‘Others can learn from India’s approach to contain AMR at state level’

Roderico H Ofrin, WHO India’s representative, discusses the role played by his organisation in tackling antimicrobial resistance in India

AMR action plan in MP a satisfying, progressive endeavour: Experts

Only three states in India — Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi — action plans to deal with AMR 

Current policy developments to contain AMR not enough: South Centre expert

Viviana Munoz Tellez, coordinator, South Centre, spoke on the gaps and challenges in the ongoing policy interventions to contain antimicrobial resistance 

‘Facial recognition technology will hamper people’s right to freedom of expression and privacy’

Anushka Jain of non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation, Delhi, talks about the concerns that surround the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance

Migration crisis wasn’t handled well by Nitish government: Shaibal Gupta

Shaibal Gupta, social scientist at Asian Development Research Institute, spoke to DTE on Bihar polls and its national importance

Importance of lakes not realised enough: Flood control chief

Sharad Chandra, director, flood forecast monitoring division, Central Water Commission, spoke to DTE on increasing instances of urban flooding  

‘My method’s an addition to the knowledge about climate change ending the Indus Valley Civilisation’

Down To Earth speaks to Nishant Malik from the Rochester Institute of Technology, United States about the new method he has developed to show that climate change ended the Indus Valley Civilisation

‘Solid, liquid waste may have overtaken fertilisers as the biggest source of N2O emissions’

Nandula Raghuram, chair of International Nitrogen Initiative, talks to DTE on the rise in nitrous oxide emissions, its repurcussions and future solutions

Onion crisis: ‘High time Union govt invested in low-cost storage’

Country director, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics talks to DTE on onion price volatality, amendement to Essential Commodities Act, 1955 

India can exert itself as one of the largest vaccine manufacturers during COVID-19: Vaccinologist Peter Hotez

Hotez talked to DTE on India’s role in global vaccination, its challenges on the home turf, anti-vax movement and vaccine diplomacy