Tag: Environment

On August 26, devastating flash floods swept across Nepal’s mountains, killing over 1,300 and laying waste to whole towns and villages. As a warming climate destabilises Himalayan glaciers, the glaciers themselves are influencing how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere, driving global warming. The Indian plate continues to push into the Eurasian...

Thanks to its unusual appearance, preference for decaying meat, and nocturnal activities, the Indian striped hyena is a tragically misunderstood animal. Estimates suggest there are around 5,000 to 14,000 striped hyenas worldwide of which some 1,000 to 3,000 are in India — possibly one of the largest groups in any country. These estimates are a...

From the musical whistles of a red-whiskered bulbul to the mechanical whirr of a barn swallow song, there is an incredible diversity to avian music. But according to a new study by researchers from France and the U.S., this vast diversity comes from just eight building blocks. Researchers analysed more than one lakh song recordings...

On April 30, 2025, Bibhash Bormedhi looked on as a tonne of waste left Majuli on a boat across the Brahmaputra river. This was a first for the world’s largest river island. “This was the first time the waste from Majuli crossed the Brahmaputra, instead of being dumped into the river,” Mr. Bormedhi, Project Manager...

There is a word in the Nicobarese language that translates into “a calm sea”. Tamra, today, is however only used by the islands’ elders and is at risk of fading away from their language forever. As seasons go awry, species go extinct, and livelihoods change, words and phrases in several Indian languages are at the precipice of...

Tropical cyclones that originate near the Equator, while being devastating, have been unusually subdued in recent decades. The last major cyclone of this kind in the Indian neighbourhood was the 2017 Cyclone Okchi which devastated Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. However, a combination of global warming and a cyclical event called the Pacific Decadal...

Climate models predicted the 2026 El Niño during early spring, just as they had in 2023. And the predictions have turned out to be accurate, with the robust evolution of a strong El Niño by the summer. Models had predicted the 2023 monsoon to be slightly deficient, and the final seasonal total, at 94% of...

This year’s El Nino weather pattern will be the biggest in over a century and could make 2027 the hottest year globally, Britain’s national weather agency predicted Friday. An El Nino weather event happens when warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific trigger worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall, as well...

“Solar irrigation will worsen the groundwater crisis.” This concern is raised in most discussions about the rapid spread of solar irrigation in India — where heavily subsidised or free electricity has led to unsustainable groundwater abstraction, contributing to falling water tables, depleting aquifers, and growing fiscal burdens on energy utilities. Thus, with solar irrigation offering...

The black-and-white image appears to show the unlikeliest of interactions: an orangutan cradling endangered leopard cubs deep in the jungles of Malaysia’s Sabah state. But the viral image is not just unlikely, it is fake, part of a trend of wildlife images generated by artificial intelligence that experts warn endanger animals and people. Fact-checkers have...