Month: December 2025

India is facing an escalating ecological threat as invasive alien plants spread through forests, grasslands, wetlands and agricultural land at unprecedented speed, according to new research. A peer-reviewed study published in Nature Sustainability this year has provided the most detailed national assessment so far, showing that invasive species are advancing across nearly 15,500 square kilometres of natural areas every year. This rapid spread is displacing native flora, degrading wildlife habitats and endangering the livelihoods of pastoral communities, with researchers warning of long-term ecological disruption. The danger is part of a wider global trend. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has identified invasive species as one ...

    A fingernail-sized fish living in a shaded Amazon stream has astonished scientists with an organ that has never been recorded before. Researchers working in the Colombian Amazon have described a new species called Priocharax rex, only about 0.8 inches long, but with a strange skin “wing” on its belly that no other known fish possesses. The discovery, published in the journal Zootaxa in 2025, suggests that even miniature species continue to evolve new and complex structures rather than simply losing parts of their anatomy over time. The research team was led by George Mendes Taliaferro-Mattox, a fish biologist at the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil. His work focuses on miniature freshwater fishes in South America and how their bodies change when they sto...

    A dangerous borer infestation is sweeping through sal forests in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district, putting as many as 100,000 trees at risk and triggering fears of an ecological disaster. Forest workers have begun marking thousands of damaged sal trees, and scientists warn that nearly one-third of the local sal population may already be infected. Local residents say the impact has grown rapidly this year. In Sontirath village, 35 labourers have been surveying a 119-hectare sal-dominated forest, marking every tree affected by borers. Early counts reveal more than 3,000 infected trees in just three hectares, and estimates suggest the total number of damaged trees in the area may exceed 100,000 once the survey is complete. Villagers describe a forest in distress. “T...

    A new definition of what constitutes the Aravali Hills has triggered concern among environmental experts, who warn that large portions of the ancient mountain range may lose protection and become vulnerable to mining and development. The government’s decision, recently accepted by the Supreme Court, classifies only hills with an elevation of more than 100 metres as part of the Aravalis. Specialists say this narrow criterion could “erase” much of the landscape that currently acts as a natural barrier for North India. The Aravalis stretch roughly 700 kilometres, forming one of the oldest mountain systems in the world and playing a crucial role in blocking desert dust, recharging groundwater and providing biodiversity corridors. Environmental scientists say that limitin...

    A farm in Anna Paulowna in the Netherlands is pioneering new methods to conserve fresh water and reduce agricultural pollution through an ambitious project known as Zoetwaterboeren. At the Hoeve Lotmeer farm, experts have installed and tested a circular water system as well as a drainage water purification system designed to protect crops during dry periods and improve local water quality. The project is a joint effort involving Wageningen University and Research, research centre Vertify, Deltares, and installation specialist Pipelife, working in close cooperation with local arable farmer Klaas Schenk. Storing winter water below ground for use in dry seasons The circular system captures fresh drainage water from the fields, stores it underground during winter, ...

    Around seven thousand years ago, two women were buried in a rocky shelter in what is now southwest Libya. Their remains have helped scientists recover the first ancient human genomes from the central Sahara, opening a window into a time when this desert was lush, green, and filled with lakes. The international research team found that these women belonged to a long isolated North African lineage that no longer exists in pure form today. Their DNA is now helping redraw the history of human movement across a much wetter Sahara. The study focuses on Takarkori, a rock shelter in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains. During the African Humid Period, roughly fourteen thousand five hundred to five thousand years ago, northern Africa had fertile grasslands, wetlands, and small lakes...

    Even as Delhi dominates attention for hazardous smog, Odisha is quietly entering its own air pollution crisis. Recent data from the Central Pollution Control Board shows a sharp rise in particulate matter, especially PM 2.5, across several major cities and industrial belts in the state. Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul and Talcher are the worst affected, while pollution levels have also climbed in Balasore, Barbil, Rourkela, Rairangpur and Keonjhar. The air quality index categorises pollution levels between good and severe, with values above four hundred marked as dangerous. Until October, most urban centres in Odisha recorded safe or satisfactory levels of air quality. However, from November onwards, conditions began deteriorating sharply. In Bhubaneswar, air quality rem...

The United States dollar hovered near a five week low on Friday as traders positioned themselves for a possible interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve next week. The dollar showed particular weakness against the Japanese yen, which strengthened on expectations that the Bank of Japan will resume raising rates later in December. Investors widely expect a quarter point rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets on December nine and ten. Market attention is now fixed on signals regarding future monetary easing. The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major rivals, slipped by zero point two percent to ninety eight point nine two nine during early trading, close to Thursday’s five week low of ninety eight point seven six five. The index is on course for a we...

A major plan to improve the flow and quality of water in the Yamuna River has run into trouble as the Uttar Pradesh government has raised strong concerns linked to local farmers. The proposal aims to release around five hundred cusecs of Ganga water through western Uttar Pradesh into the Yamuna stretch in Delhi, in hopes of diluting pollution and increasing the river’s flow. Officials planned to divert water from the Upper Ganga Canal to the Eastern Yamuna Canal and then route it into the Yamuna. However, this diversion would pass through three districts in Uttar Pradesh. According to a government source, state officials fear farmers will protest if water moves through canals in their region without being made available for agricultural use, especially during winter when irrigation need...

    Two brothers from a rural village in southwestern China received an unexpected scientific surprise after learning that the stones they had used as stepping blocks for more than twenty years were actually dinosaur footprint fossils dating back almost two hundred million years. The discovery came to light following a recent study conducted on November 29 in Wuli village, located in Sichuan province. Researchers revealed that the slabs, once treated as ordinary household stones, are now confirmed to contain Early Jurassic dinosaur tracks. The unusual stones were first reported by South China Morning Post, highlighting a remarkable piece of natural history hidden in plain sight. The Ding brothers originally found the stones in 1998 while extracting material from a sto...