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...

Scroll.in Since making headlines in January, Joshimath town in Uttarakhand continues to sink while the massive development projects, which locals insist are causing the subsidence, also continue. New cracks are appearing in the houses and roads of Joshimath town, along with deep cavities in the fields. But people who are affected, wait for rehabilitation, with only a few having received meagre compensation, that too for their houses alone. The government has neither come...

The Indian monsoon arrived on the coast of Kerala on June 8, more than a week later than normal and the southern part of the country received its lowest June rainfall in 122 years—88.6 mm—which was 45% less than the normal between 1971 and 2020. However, the monsoon has made quick progress and has now covered the entire country.  While rainfall was 10% below average during June, in July it could...

-Newsclick.in Joshimath is a serious warning signal. Any realistic development strategy should balance infra development, acceptable levels of risk, and carrying capacity of the terrai, says the noted expert on earthquakes. Dr. CP Rajendran is among India’s foremost experts on seismo-tectonics, earthquakes and tsunami geology. He is also a strong critic of the development model being pursued in Uttarakhand, a hilly state where the intensity of large-scale infrastructure projects has been rising...

-Press released by Christian Aid dated 27 December, 2022 * Study identifies the year’s 10 costliest extreme events influenced by the climate crisis - each caused more than $3 billion in damage. * Report also examines 10 other extreme events that caused massive human and environmental damage, mostly in the poorest countries. * The floods that submerged parts of Pakistan in June displaced 7m people and caused more than $30 billion in estimated...