Puneet A

The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period. In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of […]

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time. In a Meghalaya village, the World Cup isn’t the only event on a four-year cycle. The forests, too, come alive with the return of the niangtaser cicadas (Chremistica ribhoi). Known for their four-year life cycle, these insects’ return coincides with the football World Cup, giving

WAR lives on in its victims. As the Russia-Ukraine war widens, the US-Israel war on Iran continues—punctuated by fragile ceasefires—and Israel’s devastating attacks on Gaza and Lebanon carry on, global discussions are increasingly pushing for a binding commitment on a victim bearing the brunt of it all: the environment. The environment is literally under fire.

Two Covid-related deaths and eight active cases have been reported from YSR Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh. Samples from contacts are being tested and specimens have been sent to Pune for genome sequencing to identify the circulating variant. Andhra Pradesh has issued a preparedness alert, while Odisha has expanded testing in districts bordering Andhra Pradesh

A new study entitled “Warming of the high-mountainous climate sensitive Jammu and Kashmir during the period 1980–2024” published in Scientific Reports (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61302-2) has found that several high-altitude regions of Jammu and Kashmir have warmed by nearly 1°C over the past two decades, with mountain stations experiencing substantially faster warming than lower elevations. The findings raise

Bay of Bengal low-pressure area triggers heavy rainfall in Odisha, prompting red alert, while monsoon weakness keeps northern India hot and humid. IMD warns of extremely heavy rain in Odisha, with Bihar and West Bengal facing intense showers under orange alert conditions. Delhi-NCR awaits monsoon revival as temperatures remain high, humidity persists and significant rainfall

The likely impact of the expected El Niño on South Africa’s agriculture and food prices in 2027 is a major point of discussion among analysts and economists in the country. By mid-2026, weather forecasts were signalling that the world was heading towards a severe El Niño. The El Niño weather phenomenon tends to have varying impacts on the many regions

Less than a month before the second anniversary of the 2024 Wayanad landslides which fundamentally altered public understanding of landslide risks in the country and killed 298 people while leaving many more injured and homeless, another mountain slope collapsed in Wayanad district of Kerala. This time, the slip occurred at the exit section of the

In 1994, a U.S. company and the United States Department of Agriculture secured a European patent for a method of using neem extracts to control fungi. The neem tree, however, was not a discovery. Across the Indian subcontinent, it had long been used in traditional medicine, agriculture, and furniture making, with its pesticidal properties documented