-The New Indian Express Lists Kerala and north-east states as vulnerable spots for outbreak BENGALURU: A recent study has revealed that the global ‘Hotspots’ where the new deadly coronaviruses may emerge, driven by global changes in land use by humans. While China tops the list, the study mentions India’s Kerala and North-East states as vulnerable Hotspots. The study ‘Land-use change and the livestock revolution increase the risk of zoonotic coronavirus transmission from...

-Hindustan Times Besides the apprehension that Mahakumbh could emerge as a superspreader, the incidents are worrying the hoteliers and people related to the hospitality industry in Rishikesh who fear that if tourists continue to test positive in the town, then it may severely affect their business-like last year’s lockdown. Amid the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the state with several instances of a significant number of tourists testing positive especially in...

-The Indian Express Prolongation of these so-called criminal cases is unconscionable, as is forcing vulnerable people into remaining in Hotspots of increased infection and fatal risk. Two recent incidents of Stan Swamy and Gautam Navlakha show up the state of our prisons today. Both are undertrial prisoners in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Both had to move the courts for the simplest of necessities. One, to get a sipper cup and a straw because...

-Down to Earth The largest losses, mostly in forests, occurred in the Sundaland, Indo-Burma and Mesoamerica Hotspots, all in developing countries Top biodiversity Hotspots of the world lost 148 million hectares (mha) of land to agriculture and urbanisation between 1992 and 2015, a global analysis released October 30, 2020, by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said. Most of the land lost — nearly 40 per cent, or 54 mha — was...

-Down to Earth The time to put off the inevitable question about human relationship to nature is long past. Our assumption that we can control and modify nature without repercussions is a fallacy Lofty mountains that touch the azure skies, gentle hills clothed in dense tropical forests and evergreen valleys — the Western Ghats nurture a variety of ecosystems not found in any other part of the world. Spread over 164,280 square kilometres,...