Don't let the cold winter this year blindside you to a contrary phenomenon that is creeping up upon us. Temperatures in India are set to get higher—higher than what the country has recorded in the past 130 years. The monsoon too is going to change; it will rain as much, perhaps higher, but in short, intense bursts, heightening the risk of floods and crop failure. These are some of the grim...

Charged particles from beyond solar system possibly affect the pace, but the extent is not clear The role of the cosmic rays has been highlightedin a paper by the former ISRO Chairman, U.R. Rao Dr. Rao points to a nine per cent reduction in the intensity of cosmic rays during the past 150 years The impact of cosmic rays on global warming needs to be assessed. Are charged particles coming from beyond the...

The year 2010 ranked as the warmest on record – together with 2005 and 1998 – according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which added that last year also witnessed a large number of extreme weather events, including the heat wave in Russia and the devastating floods in Pakistan. In 2010, the global average Temperature was 0.53 degrees Celsius (0.95 degrees Fahrenheit) above the mean for the period from...

Dramatic cuts in industrial emissions of the global warming greenhouse gases that threaten to drastically change Earth’s climate are achievable in both developed and developing countries at acceptable cost with the right policies, the United Nations reported today. In a series of studies, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), an agency mandated to promote sustainable industrial development in developing countries, highlighted the need to combine energy efficiency, renewable energy and the...

The environment ministry today released a paper by a senior Indian space scientist that highlights the role of cosmic rays in global warming and attempts to rekindle a 13-year debate on natural factors heating the planet. The scientific review, by Udupi Ramachandra Rao, a cosmic ray physicist and former head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), also claims the UN climate change agency overestimated the role of greenhouse gases on...