Increased funding for bamboo project
China's stupendous success in exploiting bamboo for economic gains appears to have prompted India to follow suit. The heightened interest in this …
Shaky business
A deadly nexus between government officials and builders reduce most of Gujarat's homes to rubbles
COVID-19: What about housing for poor?
Union government’s housing scheme tragets derailed; low-income house buyers face increasingly volatile financial markets
How 2019 was for an average Indian household and the planet
Latest Government data debunks several tall claims of the government itself; On the other hand, at least 5 reports said the world's currnt …
How we lost the art of manipulating microclimate
The current mass housing construction is in contrast from the traditional urban forms of the city, which had smaller shaded spaces, were more …
Simply put: The budget amid a pandemic
Down To Earth’s cartoonist Sorit Gupto analyses the budget for the next financial year through his cartoons
Lack of clean water, sanitation facilities put quake survivors in Turkey at risk
Current situation might lead to waterborne infections, which would be particularly devastating to children
Nobody can predict earthquakes, but we can forecast them; Here’s how
Earthquake forecasts are built on observations of past earthquake activity, which may stretch back decades, centuries or even thousands of years
Earthquake disaster not limited to death toll
While many affected areas in Afghanistan are conflict-ridden, Pakistan faces administrative challenges
When wind and water run riot
The killer cyclone that hit Andhra Pradesh in 1977 will long be remembered as India's worst natural calamity of this century. But that we still …
Slums on rent
Dhaka has seen a sharp rise in privately owned slums. Are these a better alternative to 'squatter settlements' common in India?
Medieval descriptions of an 1114 CE quake in present-day Turkey and Syria feel eerily familiar
Even at a distance of 900 years, accounts of the 1114 earthquake reveal historical societies went about recording natural disasters in terms that …
Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (January 20, 2023)
Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
How India remains poor: As many as 22 states have become poorer
Latest NITI Aayog counts no state as ‘achiever’; overall performance of most ‘performing’, ‘laggard’ states …
Three-year action plan identifies gaps in rural development schemes
Over the next three years, the government wants to focus on strengthening implementation and monitoring of existing schemes
Structural collapse
The rot has set in the construction sector. A dysfunctional clearance system has led to a series of building collapses in the recent past. …
Alleviating poverty: Forests, trees can be trump card post COVID-19, says report
The World Bank has projected extreme poverty to increase for the first time in 20 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic
International Disaster Risk Reduction Day: Why being prepared is key to overcoming 21st century challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it abundantly clear that it is not enough for authorities to prepare for single disasters
If we’re smart about water, we can stop our cities sinking
As more cities sink, rethinking how we use groundwater can ease pressure on precious aquifers
Bombay High Court orders demolition of Adarsh Society
The HC has stayed the order for 12 weeks, giving time to the Maharashtra government to appeal in the Supreme Court
Fighting for survival
Shrinking habitat due to deforestation has forced elephants to enter human territory in Orissa's Keonjhar district
Bengal government plans to turn part of Ganga in Kolkata into drain in name of rejuvenation
Activists cry contradiction as hundreds of crores recently approved to clean river
Tamil Nadu fisherfolk urge government to prepare for sea level rise
The upcoming plan for coastal zone management should ensure housing and account for the sea level rise, suggest fisherfolk and environmentalists
Ten dead, six injured in Mumbai building collapse
Yet another building collapses amid allegations of illegal modifications; number still trapped unknown
How climate change might trigger more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
The impacts of a changing climate are becoming more evident, with unusual weather events having become the norm rather than the exception