Month: December 2025

    Climate change is quietly erasing one of humanity’s oldest healthcare systems. Across continents, medicinal plants that traditional healing systems have relied on for centuries are vanishing, threatening the primary healthcare of millions who depend on natural remedies for survival. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, deforestation and overharvesting are pushing these plants toward extinction, breaking a fragile link between nature, culture and medicine. In the high mountains of Nepal’s Lo Manthang region, traditional healer Gyatso Bista remembers a time when sacks of kutki, a bitter herb used to treat fever, coughs and liver ailments, arrived in abundance from nearby hills. Decades ago, harvests touched nearly 40 kilograms. Today, barely five kilograms can be fo...

    In a breakthrough that links environmental protection with public health, scientists have developed a new process that converts discarded plastic bottles into paracetamol, one of the world’s most widely used pain relief medicines. The discovery suggests that plastic waste, often seen as an environmental burden, could become a valuable raw material for essential drugs. The research was carried out by a team at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where scientists engineered bacteria capable of transforming chemicals derived from plastic into paracetamol, the active ingredient found in many over-the-counter painkillers such as Tylenol. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature. At the centre of the research is polyethylene terephthalate, ...

North India is currently facing the peak of the winter season as a severe cold wave, combined with dense fog, has brought normal life to a standstill. On December 18, Delhi recorded its coldest December day of the season so far, with the maximum temperature plunging to 20.1°, which is significantly below the seasonal average. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has responded by issuing various color-coded alerts across several states, warning residents of "Severe Cold Day" conditions and dangerously low visibility due to "very dense" fog. School Closures and Modified Timings As temperatures drop, district administrations have prioritized the safety of students by announcing immediate school closures and schedule changes. In Uttar Pradesh, the Bareilly district administration or...

The Union Government informed Parliament on Thursday that there is currently no conclusive data establishing a direct, exclusive correlation between high Air Quality Index (AQI) levels and the development of lung diseases. In a written response to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh clarified that while air pollution is a recognized triggering factor for respiratory ailments and associated illnesses, medical evidence does not yet support a singular causal link that would isolate AQI as the sole driver of chronic conditions. The government’s stance was issued in response to questions raised by BJP MP Laxmikant Bajpayee, who expressed concern over reports that prolonged exposure to hazardous air in Delhi-NCR is causing irreversible lung fibrosis an...

    Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has issued a stark warning regarding the future of Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism economy, highlighting the difficult reality of climate change. During the 17th Annual Convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India in Srinagar, Abdullah emphasized that the region can no longer rely solely on natural snowfall to sustain its world-famous winter destinations like Gulmarg. He noted that without consistent snow, it is nearly impossible to market the valley to international skiers, urging the industry to pivot toward technology-backed solutions like artificial snow-making to ensure a reliable and extended winter season. The push for "technical snow" comes as scientific data reveals a grim trend for the Himalayan ecosystem. Rece...

Nepal has officially introduced a landmark five-year strategy aimed at restoring the ecological balance of the Himalayas and addressing the growing garbage crisis on Mount Everest. Endorsed by the cabinet, the "Action Plan to Keep the Mountains Clean (2025–2029)" represents a shift from temporary cleanup drives to a permanent, technology-driven management system. This plan comes at a critical time, as melting snow has made decades of abandoned waste including tents, oxygen bottles, and even human remain increasingly visible to the world. A central component of the new strategy is the implementation of a sophisticated waste-tracking system. Every expedition team will now be required to submit a detailed inventory of their equipment before starting their climb. To ensure accountability, a...

    In the spring of 2021, a multinational team of scientists embarked on a high-stakes expedition into the North Atlantic. Their mission was to solve a fundamental climate puzzle: how does organic carbon, created by life at the ocean's surface, reach the deep sea for long-term storage? Battling both COVID-19 lockdowns and four massive storms with 50-knot winds, the NASA-led EXPORTS campaign has finally provided a definitive answer. The research reveals that violent storms act as a critical mechanical "reset" for the ocean’s biological carbon pump, shredding and then accelerating the sinking of "marine snow." The Ocean’s Biological Carbon Pump The process begins with phytoplankton tiny photosynthetic organisms that fix roughly 55 to 60 billion metric tons of carbon an...

The Delhi government has significantly tightened its grip on vehicular emissions as air quality in the national capital remains in the "Severe Plus" category. Under the newly enforced Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4, a strict ban has been placed on the entry of older outstation vehicles, alongside a pioneering policy that denies fuel to any vehicle lacking a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC). This enforcement comes after a brief period of internal deliberation, with officials deciding to narrow the scope of the ban to specifically target periods when the Air Quality Index exceeds 450 to avoid constant cross-border disruption. The primary target of the new restrictions is older, high-emission vehicles arriving from neighboring states like Uttar Pradesh and Ha...

In the landscape of public discourse, the terms "skepticism" and "dogmatism" are often used interchangeably, yet in the realm of science, they represent polar opposites. While scientists are trained to be professional skeptics judging claims solely on empirical evidence public debate is frequently hijacked by dogmatism, the tendency to assert opinions as truth while ignoring contrary data. This friction has defined the climate change conversation for decades, but as the effects of a warming planet move from laboratory models to our own backyards, personal experience is starting to bridge the gap where data alone could not. The Scientific "Fingerprints" of Human Influence Since 1995, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) first noted a "discernible human influence" ...

    Archaeologists working at Kalambo Falls in northern Zambia have unearthed a discovery that fundamentally shifts our understanding of prehistoric technology. Two large wooden logs, deliberately shaped and joined, have been dated to approximately 476,000 years ago. This remarkable structure was built nearly 300,000 years before the first Homo sapiens appeared, proving that ancient hominins were reshaping their environment with timber long before the dawn of modern humanity. The discovery was made possible by the unique conditions at Kalambo Falls, located on the border between Zambia and Tanzania. Beneath the towering cliffs, the Kalambo River banks contain deep layers of mud and sand that remain waterlogged year-round. This constant dampness created an oxygen-free env...