Month: August 2025

Every night tonnes of hazardous industrial waste are quietly set on fire in the folds of the Aravalis along the Rajasthan-Haryana border in Nuh. The flames die by morning, but the smoke lingers invisibly, poisoning the same Delhi-NCR air that governments, courts and agencies have spent years and crores trying to clean. The practice continues despite measures like the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and the age cap on old diesel and petrol vehicles. While these rules bring costs for citizens, their impact is undercut by a thriving black-market network where factories avoid paying the legal disposal fee of ₹10–20 per kg, and instead route their chemical waste to transporters who burn it off in kilns for a fraction of the cost. Villages Turn Into Burning Grounds Most of the kilns ar...

Torrential rains in Jammu and Kashmir have once again exposed the fragile state of India’s Himalayas triggering flash floods and landslides that scientists say are becoming alarmingly frequent. Experts link this rise in extreme weather to both climate change and haphazard development across the mountains. The most recent flooding in J\&K follows the August 5 disaster in Uttarakhand Dharali region, believed to have been sparked by a glacier collapse. Heavy rainfall also battered Kullu, Shimla, Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh this week, continuing a worrying trend across the Western Himalayas. Why Cloudbursts Are Becoming More Frequent Research since 2017 has consistently shown an uptick in flash floods and cloudbursts. Scientists explain that warmer air holds more moisture, ...

Northern China is battling the deadly force of the monsoon after flash floods killed at least eight people and left four others missing, state media confirmed on Sunday. The disaster underscores how extreme weather, intensified by climate change, is battering communities and straining the nation’s economy. The latest tragedy struck Inner Mongolia, where a river burst its banks late Saturday, sweeping through a campsite in Bayannur. Thirteen campers were caught in the sudden flood in a region known as one of China’s key grain and oil production hubs. The damage now threatens both livelihoods and national food security. Extreme Weather Strains Communities The flooding is part of a wider monsoon pattern wreaking havoc across the country. In Hainan a long-term fishing ban ended just a...

  At least eight people have been killed and four remain missing after a sudden flash flood tore through northern China’s Inner Mongolia late Saturday night, state media reported. The disaster is the latest in a string of extreme monsoon events across East Asia that experts link to climate change. The flood struck around 10 p.m. near Bayannur city, when riverbanks running through Inner Mongolia’s grasslands collapsed, sweeping away 13 campers. Bayannur is one of China key agricultural hubs, and the incident raises fresh concerns about how climate extremes may impact the nation’s food security. Monsoon Fury Spreads Across China The Inner Mongolia flood is not an isolated incident. Heavy rains and storms have disrupted life in multiple regions this season. In Beijing, infras...

Scientists have uncovered evidence that a vast tropical island once stood in the South Atlantic before sinking beneath the waves over 40 million years ago. The discovery, published in Scientific Reports, is reshaping Earth’s history while fuelling Brazil’s bid to expand sovereignty into international waters. The site, known as the Rio Grande Rise, lies 650 meters below sea level off Brazil’s coast. Once thought to be a volcanic plateau, fresh analysis reveals bands of red tropical clay trapped between hardened lava flows proof that the landmass once stood above sea level, weathered by rain and supporting vegetation. “This clay didn’t come from continents or ocean currents,” said lead researcher Luigi Jovane of the University of São Paulo. “It formed in place, when the island was exposed...

Sweeping changes in global food habits and land use could free an area larger than Africa, scientists report in Nature. The study shows that restoring half of degraded land, cutting food waste by 75%, and replacing 70% of unsustainably produced red meat with sustainable seafood could together protect or recover 43.8 million sq km of land by 2050. That includes about 30 million sq km spared from shifting diets and waste reduction alone. If no reforms are made, food production would need to rise by 34% by mid-century, further driving climate, biodiversity, and social crises, the paper warns. Researchers call for three big steps: reviving 13 million sq km of degraded land through sustainable farming led by Indigenous and smallholder communities, slashing waste through storage and distr...

Northwest Pakistan is reeling under the fury of torrential rains that have killed nearly 200 people in just 24 hours, officials confirmed on Friday. The relentless downpour has triggered flash floods, building collapses, and even brought down a rescue helicopter engaged in relief operations. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has borne the brunt of the disaster, with the Buner area reporting at least 100 deaths from floods and cloud bursts. In Swat district, swollen rivers forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents to safer locations as rescue teams battled rising waters and dangerous terrain. Lightning strikes and sudden cloud bursts added to the devastation, overwhelming already stretched emergency services. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif convened an emergency meeting to...

The Indus Basin lifeline for millions across north India and Union Territories such as Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, is showing alarming signs of stress under climate change a new study has revealed. Researchers found contrasting trends across the basin: while the western part is witnessing higher river discharge from increased glacial melt and precipitation, the eastern section is becoming wetter due to intensified monsoons and shifting rainfall patterns. The study examined river discharge across High Mountain Asia (HMA) often called Asia’s “water tower” which feeds major rivers including the Yangtze, Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, and Irrawaddy. Using computer models and satellite data covering over 114,000 river reaches between 2004 and 2019, ...

Sweeping reforms to the global food system could restore half of the world degraded land, curb climate change, and revive biodiversity by mid-century, according to a new study published in Nature. A team of 21 scientists warned that land degradation is accelerating worldwide, with severe consequences for food security, water resources, and ecosystems. The study sets out a package of reforms that, if adopted, could protect or recover 43.8 million square kilometres of land between 2020 and 2050 an area larger than Africa. At the core of the recommendations are three shifts: restoring 50 per cent of degraded land, reducing food waste by 75 per cent, and replacing 70 per cent of red meat consumption from unsustainable sources with sustainably produced seafood. The researchers stressed...

Heavy monsoon rains continue to batter Himachal Pradesh, leaving behind a trail of destruction across the hill state. The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA), in its latest report released Friday morning, confirmed that 455 roads including three national highways remain blocked due to landslides and flash floods. Kullu, Mandi, and Shimla districts are the worst affected, with dozens of key routes snapped. A major landslide in Kullu has choked NH-305, adding to travel woes. Power supply has also been hit hard, with 681 distribution transformers out of service, while several water supply schemes, especially in Mandi, Kangra, and Shimla, are struggling to function. Although no new casualties were reported in the last 24 hours, the overall toll from this monsoon...