IMD's India 2018 weather report

How did India's weather fare in 2018? Indian Meteorological Department's report on India's climate in 2018 has some important messages. It was the sixth-warmest year since 1901, when recording started. The annual mean temperature was 0.41°C above normal. Five of the warmest years were in the last decade: 2016: +0.720°C; 2009 :+0.560°C; 2017: +0.550°C; 2010: +0.540°C; 2015: +…

China became the first country to sprout a seed on the moon

This is the farthest point from the Earth where humans have grown plants. A lone cottonseed sprouted in a canister aboard the Chang’e-4, China’s moon lander that touched down on the far side of the moon.

National Clean Air Programme is a half hearted policy

India may have announced the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), but neither does it have any legal backing nor financial support, making it a toothless tiger

Oceans are warming at a faster rate than predicted

Oceans absorb 90% of the warming caused by human carbon emissions. A new analysis by University of California, Berkeley, suggests that oceans are warming at a faster rate than earlier predictions. They are absorbing excess heat 40% faster than what was previously estimated

Open defecation continues despite new toilets

Removing open defecation was one of the most touted goals of Swachh Bharat Mission, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lakhs of toilets have been built in India since 2014, when the Modi government assumed power

Problems of livestock economy and growing menace of stray cattle

Several states governed by the BJP enacted strong laws against cow slaughter. But we talk less about its effect on agriculture and rural economy

Reviving Delhi lake using constructed wetlands

Neela Hauz lake that’s spread over 10 acres used to serve as the biggest water body in south Delhi but rapid urbanisation turned it into a dump

Lead in Maggi shows how dangerous Indian food standards are

There seems to be a problem with India’s Food safety and standards. This comes in the wake of Nestle admitting that the lead in Maggi noodles is below the Indian standard. India’s Food Safety and Standards Act prescribes a maximum of 2.5 mg/kg (2.5 ppm) as the safe level for lead in noodles. But this standard is flawed and dangerous.

Are Delhi schools serving unhealthy food?

Schools in Delhi are serving unhealthy food to the students. An inspection by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has found that to be the case. Unhealthy foods can be classified as those, which are high in fats, salt, and sugar or HFSS. These foods can lead to childhood obesity, hypertensions and heart diseases.

Universal Basic Income explained in less than two minutes

With an eye on the 2019 elections, the BJP-led government may announce a Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme. Under UBI, every citizen, regardless of their identity or social and economic position, will be entitled to periodic cash payments.

Tales of cruelty and compassion from a home for destitute animals

All Creatures Great and Small, a shelter set up by humanist and social worker Anjali Gopalan, is a sanctuary for a disparate group of animals

One crore people became unemployed in India in 2018

84 per cent of these job losses happened in rural areas

Why is Delhi going through an extra cold December?

At 3.7 degrees Celsius, Delhi has already recorded its coldest December morning in the last 12 years; the IMD predicts that in coming days the temperature can fall

Two decades of Earth data at your fingertips

Check out NASA's latest offering on two decades of changes on Earth, namely detailed views of volanoes fuming, hurricanes flooding, dams being built, and wildfires sweeping

Why is Johnson and Johnson talcum powder being tested by Indian authorities?

Indian authorities are verifying the truth behind the allegations of carcinogens in Johnson and Johnson's talcum powder

Novel cure on the horizon for dementia patients

People with dementia can get back their normal lives. Researchers at Queensland Brain Institute have managed to reverse dementia symptoms in mice. And now the Australian government has given them a $10-million grant to try this cure on humans.

Mission possible: Turning a waste land into a forest with a bank of traditional seeds

A father-daughter duo grow 800 varieties of traditional seeds in a 2.5-acre land in Nayagarh district of Odisha

How climate change-induced glacial melt affects people in the Himalayan region

Climate change-induced glacial melt can seriously affect half a billion people in the Himalayan region.If the warming trend continues, most populated areas of the world may run out of water

Will 2019 Lok Sabha elections be fought over the agrarian crisis?

Agrarian distress has started to manifest in the election results. The first signs were visible in the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat, where BJP lost a sizeable share of rural votes. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the rural population can prove decisive

No political will to fight global warming finds 2019 Climate Change Performance Index

Are countries doing enough to counter the effects of climate change? Apparently not! 

India lost more than 70,000 people because of climate change-related disasters

A new report by an international thinktank Germanwatch has some bad news for India. It says that between 1998 and 2017, India lost, on an average, 3,660 people every year because of extreme weather events. In this period 73,212 casualties were reported from India.

Why the cheetah may never come back to India?

The year India became independent it also lost all its cheetahs. In 1947, India's last two Asiatic Cheetahs were shot dead in erstwhile princely state of Surguja. In 1952, India declared its cheetah population extinct