-The Tribune Centre says the opposition by activists, experts and scientists to GM crops was ‘ideological’ rather than based on scientific rationale New Delhi: As activists express concern over possible environmental contamination due to genetically modified (GM) crops, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought to know from the Centre if there was any compelling reason for the environmental release of GM Mustard. “What we want to know is whether in Indian conditions is...

-Hindustan Times Increasing spells of summer heatwave in northwestern India, thought to be linked to climate change, are hurting milk productivity, or output per cattle, while raising costs of production for farmers. Increasing spells of summer heatwave in northwestern India, thought to be linked to climate change, are hurting milk productivity, or output per cattle, while raising costs of production for farmers, a study by the flagship National Dairy Research Institute has...

-Livemint.com Just as much of today’s world is locked into fossil-fuel dependence, Indian farmers are in a trap of water-guzzling crop production that is not environmentally sustainable. The annual United Nations climate conference underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has entire days devoted to two crucial sectors that directly impact the lives of millions in India: agriculture and water. At a time of stagnant incomes and groundwater depletion, we must enable farmers to...

-Down to Earth State-level workshops will be conducted to help users interpret data from the system A new satellite-based drought-monitoring tool will be able to indicate the presence of drought and its level of severity, providing authorities the maximum possible lead time to put mitigation strategies into place in India and across South Asia.  In India, the South Asia Drought Monitoring System (SADMS) was developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and...

-Hindustan Times Climate scientists have warned that scorching heatwaves in India, among other extreme weather events, are “most certainly” being driven by global warming, posing a risk to the country’s food security. Heatwaves in the country, which shaved off 3 million tonne of wheat output this year compared to the year before, are being driven by changing weather patterns induced by global warming, scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune,...