-Science.thewire.in * In the near-term, the IPCC report reaffirms that India can no longer afford to ignore the very real developmental challenge that climate change poses at home. * In a significant development, the government’s statement contains a clear and welcome acknowledgement of the relationship between climate change and extreme events. * To embark on a low-carbon development pathway, however, India will need an institutional architecture with a more strategic bent. “It is unequivocal...

-TheWire.in There is no scientific way to erect a hydroelectric power project in the Garhwal Himalaya because erecting such a project itself would be unscientific. We use the term ‘roof on our heads’ to denote safety and security, but for sixteen families of Jugju, an area of Raini village in Uttarakhand’s Niti valley, the roof over their heads has been unstable and dangerous. Many social media users shared a video earlier this week...

-PTI/ TheWire.in * Odisha received only 661.1 mm of rain between June 1 and August 31 this year, against a normal of 935.8 mm. * Rainfall over the state during August was 204.9 mm, against a normal of 366.4 mm – a difference of 44%. * The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the state will receive normal rainfall, of 226.6 mm, in September 2021. Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded its highest rainfall deficiency this monsoon...

-Down to Earth blog The ecology of Himachal Pradesh’s hydropower hub is too fragile for such projects “Twenty-five years ago, people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much about climate change. Today, we have no excuses,” Desmond Tutu, South African theologian, had said. The recent landslides in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district brought back focus on how 40 per cent of the state is geologically ‘highly sensitive’, according to a report...

-The Hindu Environmental experts and politicians raise concern over Centre’s proposal. Given the widespread destruction of rainforests and native biodiversity caused by oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, Environmental experts and politicians are warning that the Centre’s move to promote their cultivation in India’s northeastern States and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be disastrous. Other concerns include the impact on community ownership of tribal lands, as well as the fact that...