DownToEarth The Aral Sea, the world’s fourth-largest lake until the early 1960s, dried up after that decade in Soviet Central Asia and became a byword for environmental disaster later, almost on the lines of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Now, a new study has found that the desert which emerged Due to the drying up of the lake, has made Central Asia a much dustier place. Not only is the dust more hazardous...

Down to Earth Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla city has been battered following three days of heavy rainfall — there have been three major landslides in the last four days and the bodies of over 22 people have been recovered so far. Over two dozen people are missing and suspected to be buried under the debris. According to experts, the city has long crossed its carrying capacity, which is leading to regular landslides...

The Wire The issue of the deaths of 70 children in the Gambia after consuming cough syrup is back in the news again. These deaths were linked to four medicines made by an Indian manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals. A Gambian presidential task force has now recommended that the government must sue the drug manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, and the drug importer, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals.  It also wants the Government of India to be sued. This...

Tomato prices are up through the roof. Retail prices are in the range of Rs 120-150 per kilogram in most mandis across India, making the household vegetable more expensive than petrol. Prices, which at the beginning of the year were in the range of Rs. 25 a kg, have increased by an order of between 500-600 percent.   What does the data show? The National Horticultural Board is a body under the...

Deccan Herald The reason for the sudden rise in tomato prices across the country lies in Bengaluru’s backyard. The arrivals at the Kolar Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), which is a major supplier of tomatoes to the entire country from June to September, have seen a sharp decline. The APMC has received only 3.2 lakh quintals of tomatoes this June, as against 5.45 lakh quintals in June 2022. In fact, the...