-Livemint.com India’s top five warmest years since 1901 have been recorded only in the last 15 years New Delhi: The latest data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reveals that 2016 was the warmest year for India in the last 116 years since 1901.Not just that, IMD’s “Statement on Climate of India during 2016” also reveals that India’s top five warmest years since 1901 have been recorded only in the last...

-The Hindu The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter...

-AP NEW DELHI: As India wakes up on Monday to smoke-filled skies from a weekend of festival fireworks, New Delhi's worst season for air pollution begins, with dire consequences. A new report from UNICEF says most of the 2 billion children in the world who are breathing toxic air live in north India and neighbouring countries, risking serious health effects, including damage to their lungs, brains and other organs. Of that global...

-Livemint.com New Delhi: Despite widespread drought in 11 states across the country, India’s foodgrain production is actually set to grow marginally, the third advance estimates released by the agriculture ministry on Monday showed. Total foodgrain production in 2015-16 is estimated at 252.23 million tonnes, marginally higher than 252.02 million tonnes produced in 2014-15, the data shows. If the estimates hold up, it would imply that the damage to the agrarian economy is less...

-DNA Even as the Modi government promises to increase the green cover, here are the challenges it is facing. Meet Ashish Arora, resort owner in Uttarakhand who lives next to a forest. It is not just the chirping birds, clean air and wild animals that surround him. He also has to grapple with forest fires every year. For the people in Uttarakhand like any other forest-rich state, forest fires are a way...