Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from the week just gone by
Here are Down To Earth’s top 10 green stories on the week that was:
In 2021, nearly seven million people died globally as a result of diabetes, while $970 billion was the world’s quantified healthcare expenditure that year, according to a new report titled Diabetes Global Industry Overview 2023.
Delegates at a United Nations (UN) Conference in the German city of Bonn adopted a new global framework to reduce environmental risks from chemicals and waste on September 30, 2023.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on October 2, 2023, approved a second anti-malaria vaccine for children. The vaccine has been developed by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, a statement on its website said.
High levels of cancer-causing heavy metals such as lead and chromium have been found in eight wetlands in Odisha, including Hirakud. The Hirakud reservoir is one of the largest human-made reservoirs in India.
After planting thousands of Conocarpus trees (locally Saptaparni) over the last few years, the civic bodies in Gujarat are now chopping them down after government orders sought a ban on planting the species because of its environmental and health hazards.
The majority of birds in the Himalayas migrate downslope during the winter, while a small proportion of species in low elevations migrate upslope, a new study examining birds from eastern and western Himalayas found.
The challenges and opportunities behind meeting the rising demand for minerals required for clean energy technologies was at forefront of discussions at the first IEA Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit held at Paris, France on September 28, 2023. Solar and electric vehicles are among clean energy technologies.
The Delhi government launched a ‘green war room’ on October 3, 2023 to combat air pollution in the national capital through 24x7 monitoring and implementation of the Winter Action Plan. The national capital’s battle with air pollution is long standing and takes a particular hit in the winters.
A contentious Bill waiving off the necessity of doing social impact assessments (SIA) and public hearings for ‘strategic and development’ projects was recently passed by the Odisha government months after it was scrapped. It has raised serious concerns, as the state continues its crackdown against protestors and activists fighting land acquisitions in the state.
An earthquake that originated in Nepal on the intervening night of October 3 and October 4, 2023 might have triggered the bursting of the South Lhonak Lake, according to sources in the India Meteorological Department. The lake had already become vulnerable over the last 11 days with unusual expansion, they pointed out.
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