Environmental Issues

India, the third-highest contributor, is projected to see emissions rise by 6.3% from 2017: study Global carbon emissions are set to hit an all-time high of 37.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2018, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Global Carbon Project. India, the …

Coming down heavily on the Karnataka government for failing to “protect and rejuvenate” Bellandur, Agara and Varthur lakes, the National Green Tribunal (NDT) on Thursday directed the State government to transfer Rs. 500 crore to an escrow account. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/ngt-tells-state-to-set-aside-rs-500-cr-for-water-bodies/article25684940.ece

Delhi’s air quality remained ‘very poor’ on Thursday, with seven areas recording ‘severe’ air quality. The Central Pollution Control Board listed an overall air quality index (AQI) of 355. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 is ‘severe’. A …

In a bid to minimise the damage caused to forests and wildlife due to infrastructure projects, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday directed all implementing agencies of proposed projects to hold a joint meeting and check whether a single, consolidated and elevated road can be constructed instead of multiple ones. …

Study says 26% of global premature death and disease burden by air pollution occurs in India India, with 18% of the world’s population, has a disproportionately high 26% of the global premature deaths and disease burden due to air pollution. Moreover, one in eight deaths in India was attributable to …

Winter is likely to be warmer than average, with fewer ‘cold wave’ days between December and February, according to a forecast by the India Meteorological Department. The forecast suggests that ‘above normal’ seasonal minimum temperatures (>0.5° C) are most likely over most of the subdivisions of the country. However Jammu …

Only 12% of pledges have materialised: Ministry paper The Finance Ministry has issued a ‘discussion paper’ that has criticised the accounting methods used by developed countries to report how much money they have given, so far, to developing countries to address climate change. Accounting procedures, regarding the flow of climate …

A committee of wildlife experts warned on Monday that Canada’s largest land predator, the polar bear, was at risk of disappearing from its vast Arctic landscape as melting Arctic sea ice makes hunting prey a challenge. “It is clear we will need to keep a close eye on this species,” …

Amount to be deposited with CPCB The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed the Delhi government to deposit an environmental compensation of Rs. 25 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for failing to curb air pollution in the Capital. A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh …

U.P. govt. to reduce the numbers of ‘unproductive’ cattle by curbing their birth In Uttar Pradesh, where the ban on cow slaughter is taken very seriously, what’s illegal for humans may well prove a godsend to tackle the growing menace of stray bulls: sex selection. The State government plans to …

Muthupet in Tiruvarur district was among the coastal towns that faced the wrath of Cyclone Gaja. But considering the extent of the damage elsewhere, this town seems to have been spared the worst, thanks to its mangrove forests.“They functioned as a shield and broke the velocity of the wind. In …

Between June and October this year, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized more than 150 exotic birds and other species being smuggled into the country. The interceptions were a major success not only because the seizures included birds like Pygmy falcons, Eclectus parrot, Javan sparrows and Kookaburras, …

A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said: “One of the projects to check pollution of the Ganga is installation of STPs at Haridwar with enhanced capacity… According to the compliance affidavit, the work is likely to be completed by February 2020. Having regard to significance and …

India will resist attempts by countries to renegotiate the Paris Agreement, said one of India’s key negotiators at climate talks set to begin next week in Katowice, Poland.While he didn’t name them, meetings in the run-up to the COP have seen several, particularly Australia, and the U.S. prominently, raise concerns …

The road has been remaining unusable due to extensive damage caused due to SW monsoon The 13-odd km road connecting Chadivayal and Siruvani has been remaining unusable due to extensive damages caused due to south west monsoon. But less human intervention following the road damages have become a bliss for …

Three major science administrators in India — the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Department of Biotechnolgy — are getting together to promote research in herbal drugs, some of which involve deriving new drugs from marijuana.Among the first such studies likely to …

Two tigers and an elephant were found dead across the Bandipur-Nagarahole belt on Friday. The combing operation of a tiger near Himmavad Gopalswamy Betta in Bandipur National Park ended on the discovery of its carcass, another tiger death was reported from Kalahalla in Nagarahole. A tusker was also found gored …

Even before the cyclone made landfall, Ministers M.C. Sampath (Industries), R. Kamaraj (Food), O.S. Manian (Textiles), C. Vijaya Baskar (Health), R. Doraikkannu (Agriculture) and M. Manikandan (Information Technology), who are natives of these districts, have been camping there.Senior IPS officers Shakeel Akhtar, Thamaraikannan, Ravi and C. Sylendra Babu have been …

The two cubs of tigress Avni, who was shot dead in Yavatmal earlier this month, were spotted twice on Thursday morning, triggering a massive search for them. According to the Forest officials, the cubs, who had been missing since Avni’s killing on November 2, were first spotted by residents of …

A (H1N1) influenza has claimed the lives of four persons, who were undergoing treatment for the disease at Coimbatore Medical College. The deceased have been identified as J. Mechammal (67) from Ajantha Nagar near Narasimhanaickenpalayam, Nishar Ahammed (54) from Pallapatti near Karur, Padmavathi (70) from Athipalli in the Nilgiris, and …