-Down to Earth Wildfires have been reported from the buffer zone of Silent Valley National Park apart from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Attappadi Reserve Forest and Walayar Reserve Forest Kerala has witnessed raging wildfires in the last four days as an unusually early summer has raised temperatures by two to three degrees Celsius above average. The state’s flora and fauna have suffered as a result of the climate change-induced extreme weather events. Wildfires have...

-The Wire Science * Many regions in India, including the north and the centre, are currently reporting hotter weather thanks to heat waves. * The IMD has forecast ‘severe’ heat wave conditions for the next three days over parts of Rajasthan. Heat waves will also prevail over areas of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana. * According to the government, the IMD’s predictive power to forecast heatwaves has increased significantly over the years. Kochi: Many...

-Down to Earth Hong Kong and New Zealand facing huge waves; situation in Hong Kong similar to India delta wave The COVID-19 pandemic is again rearing its head on the opposite sides of Eurasia after a lull, with both, China and Europe reporting a rise in cases, according to media reports. New Zealand too is facing a resurgence in cases. China recorded 5,280 new cases March 16, 2022, which is a more than...

-Down to Earth Smaller cities of Bihar more polluted than the big cities in Delhi-NCR The average concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the cities of eastern India was the same as that in the cities of Delhi-NCR in the winter of 2021-22, according to a new report.  Parsed regionally, eastern India was over three times as polluted as southern India and 22 per cent more polluted than northern India from October...

-The New Indian Express Officials dispute findings of UDISE+ report; Kerala and Puducherry fare much better CHENNAI: Only 18% of government schools in Tamil Nadu have internet facility, according to the Unified district Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report 2020-21.The latest UDISE+ report, which was released recently by the Union Ministry of Education, reveals that 32.03 per cent of schools (government, government-aided, private, and others) in the State have internet facility...