-The Times of India PUNE: Vehicles, air conditioners and industries may be the usual suspects contributing to the rise in pollution levels across the country, but the practice of Biomass burning is an equal threat, if not bigger. A recent study assessing the effects of Biomass burning on pollution in South Asia was conducted by Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and National Centre for Atmospheric Research in the US. The...

-PTI Chandigarh: The illegal practice of burning paddy stubble has been going on unabated in some parts of Punjab and Haryana despite a government ban on it causing air pollution and health-related issues, agri-experts said. According to Vice Chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Dr B S Dhillon, stubble burning is causing multiple problems that include affecting the soil health, besides causing environmental pollution. "Hazy weather was witnessed recently which could have...

-The Hindu Agroforestry promotes productive cropping environments, prevents deforestation, protects watersheds and enables agricultural land to withstand extreme weather events Growing trees on farms is a triple-win strategy for combating simultaneously the challenges of increasing food production, mitigating greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change. It is an instrument of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), catapulted to centre-stage by President Obama's launch of the Global Alliance for CSA at the World Climate Summit on...

-The Hindustan Times Gurdaspur (Punjab): Punjab, known for its sprawling agricultural fields, is equally famous for burning of paddy and wheat straw by farmers after the harvesting season. The smoke released from burning of paddy straw is extremely bad for health. "Each year, the agriculture department spreads the same message highlighting the ill-effects of straw burning in the fields, but farmers rarely pay heed to it. Burning of straw causes severe harm...

-The Hindustan Times Former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh set a cat among the pigeons, in his inimitable style, at a recent national conference on climate and sustainable development at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. He asserted that India would be "the last man standing at Paris", referring to the United Nations climate negotiations which will culminate in France in December 2015. India's current stance was "inflexible...