-Down to Earth Cyclones in India, particularly in the Sundarbans, made locals vulnerable to traffickers and drove them into forced labour, the report flagged  Climate change-induced extreme weather events put women, children and minorities at risk of modern slavery and human trafficking. The phenomenon is on the rise in India, among other countries, warned the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Anti-Slavery International in a recent report.  Modern slavery — including...

-Down to Earth We must get out of ‘beyond disaster response’ mode in the Sundarbans and take urgent action to save it The world seems to pay attention to the Sundarbans only when catastrophe hits. In the aftermath of both superCyclones Amphan and Yaas that ravaged the Sundarbans, non-profits, celebrities, clubs and citizens had organised several crowd funding initiatives to get the financial support to distribute relief materials to the Cyclone victims. It...

-Down to Earth 73% Indians are optimistic about avoiding climate crisis in their lifetime according to a survey by Epson; 4.1% don’t believe there is a climate emergency There is a big gap in perception among Indians of the scale and immediacy of the climate emergency on one hand and the actions to tackle the same on the other, a recent survey conducted by global technology leader, Epson, has shown. Down To Earth...

-UN News Many extreme environmental events have a devastating effect on people’s lives, and a new UN report reveals that many of them are linked by the same underlying causes. On the day the study is released, we look at the impact of a locust swarm on a Kenyan farmer, and the ways that Cyclone Amphan affected an Indian worker. The huge locust swarm which hit the Horn of Africa in the...

-Down to Earth Amid a derailing COVID-19 pandemic, after Cyclone Tauktae devastation, comes a deep deficit in rainfall Farmers in Gujarat are staring a possible drought after the failure of the southwest monsoon in the state this year. This, even as people in the state have already suffered nearly two years of economic difficulties due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and it has been three months since Cyclone Tauktae.  Please click...