In the midst of COVID-19 lockdown, desert locust swarms have been seen in parts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh in the second half of May 2020. The recent attacks by desert locust swarms have caused massive crop damage, depletion in the stock of cattle fodder and destruction of green vegetation in these states. As on 25th May, 2020, over half of Rajasthan’s 33 districts were...

-Down to Earth Rising temperatures due to climate change may be compounding the stress on crops in multiple ways, it says Insect attacks are becoming stronger with rising temperatures and plants are not able to cope with the double whammy from pests and rising heat. These are the findings of a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study reinforces previous findings that persistent warm and...

-The Indian Express Awareness campaigns are needed to deal with climate change We are delighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an impassioned appeal for the reduction in the use of chemicals in agriculture. Though, in time, the PM will realise it is easier to announce new approaches than to get the agriculture system to embrace the appeal. This does not have to be. Public policy and allocation of funds can...

  In the month of June this year, encephalitis related deaths in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district grabbed the headlines. Actually, most of the children, who were admitted or died at Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), hailed from East Champaran, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Samastipur apart from Muzaffarpur. Unfortunately, till recently official data on the number of cases and deaths related to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) was unavailable for...

-Business Standard Food supply chains will get disrupted globally, the study warns. Report to be officially released in August “The rate and geographic extent of global land and freshwater resources over recent decades is unprecedented in human history,” a report authored by UN’s panel of scientists from across the world on climate change is set to inform. Business Standard reviewed a leaked copy of the draft report sent to the governments of...