The government says area under forests has been increasing for the last 13 years. ET finds this is the outcome of statistical jugglery and the use of flawed definitions by India's forest bureaucracy. The bald truth is India's forests are in serious decline, both in numbers and in health. In February, the latest instalment of a little environmental kabuki played out when the Forest Survey of India released its biennial report...

-The Hindu   Scanty rainfall coupled with long dry spells plays havoc A large deficit in rainfall coupled with long dry spells have played havoc with farmers in Ranga Reddy district this year as the kharif as well as the rabi crop have been badly-affected. Rain-fed crops like cotton, maize, paddy and red gram have borne the brunt of unfavourable seasonal conditions. Farmers who cultivated rain-fed crops are in deep distress as their investments...

Sehal Sagar village in Rajasthan has won the national water award instituted by the water resources ministry Nestled in Rajasthan’s bone-dry Tonk district, Sehal Sagar village boasts of lush green fields, wells full to the brim and healthy cattle. The surprise transformation has been possible because the village follows rainwater harvesting and develops its pasture land. Sehal Sagar has an elaborate network of ponds, canals and chaukas which ensure that every drop...

-The Telegraph The world is likely to get 10 times hotter in the next 90 years, a report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said. The report links the rise in temperatures to the “high greenhouse gas emission scenario” caused by human activity. It says intense drought, heavy precipitation and intensity of tropical cyclones are also likely to increase. Titled “Special Report on managing the risks of extreme events...

For once, it is a happy farewell to the monsoon. An indulgent rain god, who overstayed for a week to compensate two successive years of drought in Jharkhand, today departed with the golden promise of a bumper winter yield. Weathermen at the Patna Meteorological Office confirmed that the monsoon trough had become weak after October 11, but faded away only today. “The rains have officially withdrawn from Jharkhand. But several parts of...