“Our new analysis shows it is possible to bring down carbon dioxide emissions from our iron and steel sector drastically by 2030 while tripling India’s output of steel. We can emit even less than what we do today – but all this will need planning, technology, and funds,” says Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, referring to CSE’s recent assessment report on the emissions footprints of India’s iron and steel sector and how it can be ‘decarbonized’.

India recorded extreme weather events on 242 of the 273 days between January 1 and September 30 this year. This means that more than 88 percent of the time over these nine months, the country was witnessing an extreme weather event of some sort happening in one or more of its regions.

Between 2000 and 2015, global production of plastic increased by a whopping 79 percent. The total mass of plastics on our planet is now twice the mass of all living mammals, and about 80 percent of all the plastics ever produced continue to remain in the environment.

Global carbon emissions in 2022 remain at record levels – with no sign of the decrease that is urgently needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, according to the Global Carbon Project science team.

As Delhi and the National Capital Region brace for the upcoming winter, it remains to be seen if the seasonal average of PM2.5 during winter -- that had improved during the pandemic but had stagnated post-pandemic -- will further bend or increase. This winter season is also starting from a much cleaner benchmark due to rains in September and October.

Even as the monsoon has made its footfalls felt across the country, there seems to be little respite from the searing heat – aided by steep rises in humidity levels -- in many pockets. The heat waves lashing India this summer are symptomatic of the anomalous temperature trends that are expected to worsen with growing climate change impacts.