Of the over 1,700 people who lost their lives to extreme weather events in India in the year 2021, 350 were from Maharashtra. Odisha followed with 223 casualties; and in Madhya Pradesh, 191 lives were lost.

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector of Indian industry accounts for close to 30 per cent of the country’s GDP. Despite such a substantial role played by the sector in India’s economy, its contribution to deteriorating air quality in cities and regions has rarely been assessed, analysed or highlighted.

Biodiversity conservation is an absolute imperative today, but is India serious about it? Notwithstanding the alacrity that the country has shown in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, India’s record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been quite dismal – finds an investigative analysis done by Down To Earth magazine.

North-western and central India have been reeling under scorching temperatures since March this year. While India recorded its warmest March in the last 122 years, by April, the hilly regions of the country were also engulfed by a severe heatwave. 

The winter season has drawn to a close, but it has left alarm bells clanging. A new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment, of winter air pollution trends in Delhi-NCR, says that while there had been a minor drop in the seasonal level compared to previous winters, the level is still extremely high, and far from meeting the safety standards. To get full access to this report, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1/- for the next 24 hours.

“What does this intense heatwave that has hit large parts of India so early this summer really mean? It means that this is the age of climate change; it also means that how we deal with our water in the coming days will determine whether we would survive such extreme climatic conditions,” says Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment. To get full access to this story, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours...