Forest fires are not just confined to countries like the United States of America (California, 2020), Brazil (Amazon forest, 2019-2020) or Australia (2019-20); they happen every year across many states in India too. Media reports suggest that forest fires have taken place in the recent months in Odisha's Simlipal National Park, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, among other states. Forest fires have also been reported this year in Nagaland-Manipur border (Dzukou...

-Down to Earth A village in outer Delhi is sinking in wastewater overflowing from the Najafgarh drain. That’s because of construction over a wetland, which has blocked the natural water channels. Extreme rainfall has worsened the crisis If you wished to enter Raota village, on the Delhi-Haryana border in the national capital’s southwest district, you would have to wade through knee-deep wastewater. Roads there resembled a sewer; people used boats to commute. Wastewater...

-Hindustan Times The international study includes data from Indian rural areas while measuring the impact of some weather events on suicides. Not only drought but flooding or even extreme rainfall leading to excess water availability is linked to higher cases of suicides among those above the age of 15 years in rural areas, a new study has suggested. In an analysis of 9,456 suicides between 2001 and 2013 in randomly selected rural areas,...

-The Hindu Current method is based on pre-1960s rainfall data, says expert; report also calls for changes in agro plans owing to shift in rainfall and temperature variation A recent analysis of the last 58 years’ (1960 to 2017) weather data of Karnataka has indicated a considerable shift in rainfall pattern in the State, which has a bearing on agriculture and water security. It calls for changes in the present cropping pattern and...

-Frontline.in As the threat of a locust attack looms, and as climate change threatens to increase the frequency of such attacks, Indian agriculture needs a more durable and long-term strategy to fight the menace. Life in the desert is defined by scarcity of water. The harsh, prolonged dry spells further restrict the availability of food resources for much of the year. Plants and animals in the desert have evolved various strategies to...