Month: January 2026

Women unpaid care work is the invisible force sustaining families, communities, and even national economies as climate change accelerates disasters and social stress across the globe. New research highlighted on PreventionWeb reveals that while climate debates focus on emissions, finance, and technology, the real shock absorbers of climate crises are women whose labour remains unpaid, uncounted, and largely ignored by policy. The authors, Ezgi Canpolat and Katy Aní, draw from personal histories and years of development research to show how care work forms the foundation of resilience. Canpolat recalls growing up in a Turkish coal-mining town where her father worked underground while her mother managed everything above ground. From caring for children and elderly relatives to stretching ...

    China significantly expanded its ecological footprint in 2025, completing land greening work across 127 million mu, or 8.47 million hectares, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The effort included large-scale afforestation and restoration of degraded grasslands, pushing the country forest coverage rate to 25.09 percent and total forest stock volume to nearly 21 billion cubic metres, reflecting China accelerating shift towards greener development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025, the country completed greening of 549 million mu of land, with afforestation accounting for 185 million mu. Each year, more than 46 million mu of degraded grassland were restored, keeping overall vegetation coverage above 50 percent. Healt...

    More than half of India major river deltas are sinking faster than global sea levels are rising, putting millions of people at growing risk of floods, land loss and displacement, a new global study has found. Published in the journal *Nature*, the research points to excessive groundwater extraction as the single biggest driver accelerating land subsidence across several densely populated delta regions. The study identifies the Ganga–Brahmaputra, Brahmani, Mahanadi, Godavari, Cauvery and Kabani deltas among those experiencing rapid sinking of land. Researchers warn that in many of these regions, the pace of subsidence now exceeds the rate of sea-level rise, compounding flood risks even without extreme climate events. River deltas may occupy just about one per cent ...

    As the United Nations prepares to mark 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, a new scientific study has raised serious concerns about the future of Africa’s grasslands. Published in Nature Communications the research finds that nearly half of the continent’s rangelands are now being grazed beyond safe ecological limits, largely due to rapidly rising livestock numbers combined with mounting climate stress. Pastoralism remains central to Africa’s food security, culture and rural economies, but researchers warn that the pace of livestock growth is outstripping the capacity of grasslands to recover. Of Africa’s 49 countries, 25 are already facing severe overuse of grasslands, with northern regions emerging as the most heavily affected. Livesto...

    In a small village of Bihar Nawada district, two brothers have quietly built a recycling venture that is redefining how plastic waste is viewed in India and beyond. Named ‘Minus Degree’, the startup recycles nearly 120 tonnes of plastic every year, transforming discarded wrappers and scrap into tiles, furniture, medals, trophies and souvenirs that have reached the Rashtrapati Bhawan and global markets. Founded by Vikas Kumar and his younger brother Rahul Kumar, the company processes around 10 tonnes of plastic waste every month and has achieved an annual turnover of ₹1.25 crore. What began as a modest experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown has now grown into a sustainable business supplying eco-friendly products to corporate giants and government institutions alike....

    North India is bracing for a sharper spell of winter from January 19, with temperatures expected to dip further as two western disturbances move towards the region in quick succession. Weather experts say the change in wind direction and approaching systems will intensify cold conditions across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar over the next few days. According to the India Meteorological Department, the western disturbances will primarily affect the Western Himalayan region through the coming week, increasing the likelihood of rain and snowfall in the hills by January 23. Meteorologists have also warned that dense to very dense fog will continue to disrupt visibility across northwest India and Bihar for at least the next two to thre...

    A high-capacity dredger imported from Finland has begun operations at Delhi’s Najafgarh Drain, identified by authorities as the single largest source of pollution flowing into the Yamuna. The deployment marks a renewed push by the Delhi government to address river pollution through continuous and technology-driven interventions. The multipurpose Watermaster Amphibious Dredger was launched on Friday by Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh along with three self-propelled hopper barges. Officials said the Najafgarh Drain alone contributes nearly 70 per cent of the total pollution load entering the Yamuna, making it a critical focus area in the river-cleaning effort. Equipped to operate seamlessly on land and water, the dredger features four stabi...

    As India steps up efforts to decarbonise industrial heat, biomass-based energy is emerging as a key solution, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). However, experts and policymakers warn that the biggest challenge lies not in technology, but in securing a steady and reliable supply of bioenergy raw materials. Industrial heat is among the hardest segments of India energy system to clean up. MSMEs, which contribute nearly one-third of the country manufacturing output, rely heavily on coal, furnace oil and petcoke for heat and steam. This dependence locks them into high emissions and exposes them to fluctuating fuel prices. To break this cycle, the government is increasingly looking at biomass as a cleaner and locally available alternative. Biom...

    Indonesia has reclaimed more than four million hectares of land that had been illegally used for plantations, mining and other commercial activities inside officially designated forest areas, government officials said. The large-scale enforcement drive, described as the most extensive forest crackdown in the country’s history, has raised major questions about the legality of oil palm plantations, the future of seized land and the lack of clarity surrounding ecological restoration. The operation is being led by a special task force established in January 2025 by President Prabowo Subianto. The year-old task force brings together the military, police, prosecutors and several ministries to enforce forest protection laws that have historically been weakly implemented. Of...

    Young tropical forests are one of nature’s most powerful tools to slow climate change, but a new international study shows that their ability to absorb carbon dioxide is being held back by a shortage of nitrogen in the soil. Researchers have found that when this essential nutrient is available, recovering tropical forests can grow almost twice as fast during their early years, allowing them to capture far more carbon from the atmosphere. The study, published in Nature Communications was coauthored by ecologist Dr. Sarah Batterman of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and led by scientists from the University of Glasgow. It suggests that nitrogen limitation in young tropical forests could be preventing them from absorbing up to 470 to 840 million metric tons of c...