Month: December 2025

    The gradual destruction of the Aravalli hills could allow the Thar Desert to advance towards Delhi and the National Capital Region, triggering severe climate, health, and environmental consequences, according to environmental scientist Professor Laxmi Kant Sharma of the Central University of Rajasthan. Speaking amid growing concern over a recent Supreme Court decision on mining in the Aravalli range, Sharma warned that weakening this ancient natural barrier could permanently alter north India’s climate and air quality. Supreme Court ruling raises alarm among conservationists The Supreme Court recently accepted an elevation-based definition proposed by the Union environment ministry, under which only landforms above 100 metres would be classified as part of the ...

    Rainforests, long considered one of the planet’s strongest natural defences against climate change, are beginning to lose their ability to absorb carbon, according to a new scientific study. Research published in the journal *Nature* has found that parts of Africa’s forests, which once removed large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, are now generating carbon as a result of increasing human activity. The findings raise serious concerns for global climate goals, particularly as forests play a crucial role in limiting temperature rise under international agreements. Africa’s forests shift from carbon sink to carbon source The study reveals that Africa’s forests and woody savannas made a significant transition between 2010 and 2017, moving from acting ...

    Delhi woke up under a dense blanket of smog on Monday, December 15, 2025, as air pollution worsened sharply across the city. The overall Air Quality Index settled at 498, placing it at the higher end of the severe category and pushing the capital into a public health emergency zone. According to official data, air quality remained severe at 38 monitoring stations, while two stations reported very poor conditions. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst air quality among all 40 stations, with an AQI reading of 498. The situation appeared even more alarming in certain industrial pockets of the city. The Wazirpur air quality monitoring station touched the maximum possible AQI value of 500 during the day, beyond which the Central Pollution Control Board does not record data. ...

    Scientists have detected hundreds of previously unknown “iceberg earthquakes” near Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, raising new concerns about the stability of one of the world’s most vulnerable ice systems. The findings suggest that rapid ice loss and changing ocean conditions are triggering seismic activity at the ocean-facing edge of the glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier” because of its potential impact on global sea levels. The research, soon to be published in Geophysical Research Letters reports that more than 360 glacial earthquakes were recorded in Antarctica between 2010 and 2023, most of them clustered around the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers in West Antarctica. What are glacial or iceberg earthquakes? Glacial earthquakes are a rar...

    Snowfall in the Hindu Kush Himalayas is declining at an alarming pace, raising serious concerns for river systems, ecosystems and water security across South and Southeast Asia. Scientists warn that increasing snow droughts in the region could have devastating ripple effects for downstream river basins that support nearly two billion people across eight countries. From the Indus to the Mekong, shrinking snowpacks are shortening snow-covered seasons and weakening the natural water storage that mountain snow provides, threatening agriculture, hydropower generation and drinking water supplies far beyond the mountains. Vanishing snow witnessed on the ground In the high-altitude region of Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, researchers documenting snow conditions encountered...

    In 1964, a single scientific decision led to the loss of one of the oldest living organisms ever discovered on Earth. A Great Basin bristlecone pine later named Prometheus was cut down on Nevada’s Wheeler Peak, only for researchers to realise afterward that the tree was nearly 5,000 years old. The incident would permanently change how scientists view and protect ancient natural life. At the time, the tree appeared unremarkable. It was small, twisted and weather-beaten, much like many other bristlecone pines growing in the harsh, high-altitude environment of the Great Basin. No one involved understood that it had survived for thousands of years, silently witnessing the rise and fall of human civilisations. A research request that ended in irreversible loss The t...

    Delhi and the National Capital Region moved into the strictest phase of the Graded Response Action Plan on December 13, 2025, after air quality levels deteriorated sharply and entered the “severe plus” category. Authorities triggered GRAP stage four as pollution readings crossed emergency thresholds, raising concerns about public health and daily life across the region. According to official data from the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi average Air Quality Index crossed 430 by late afternoon and continued to rise in the evening. With weather conditions offering little relief, regulators decided immediate action was necessary to prevent further worsening. What the Graded Response Action Plan is and why it exists The Graded Response Action Plan, commonly k...

    The Waterfront Alliance, in collaboration with ARISE-US, has announced the release of the Coastal Resilience Scorecard, a first-of-its-kind global assessment tool designed to help coastal cities and settlements identify vulnerabilities and strengthen disaster risk reduction strategies. The tool aims to enhance resilience against growing threats such as sea-level rise, storms, and other coastal hazards that are intensifying due to climate change. The Scorecard has been developed to support cities of all sizes, from major coastal megacities and island nations to smaller coastal communities, offering a common framework to assess readiness and guide action. Public launch at global ocean summit in Barcelona The Coastal Resilience Scorecard was officially launched at...

    Intensifying floods are emerging as a major and rapidly growing threat to global rice production, placing food security for billions of people at serious risk. New research from Stanford University shows that prolonged flooding is wiping out millions of tonnes of rice every year, with the damage accelerating as climate change fuels heavier rainfall across key agricultural regions. Published in the journal Science Advances the study finds that global rice yields declined by an average of 4.3 per cent annually between 1980 and 2015, translating to nearly 18 million tonnes of lost grain each year. Since 2000, the pace of losses has increased as extreme flood events have become more frequent and intense. Flooding emerges as an overlooked threat to rice production R...