Month: June 2026

The southwest monsoon is steadily advancing into more parts of northern India, but many people are wondering why large areas are still waiting for significant rainfall. According to weather experts, the answer lies in the difference between the geographical advance of the monsoon and the actual occurrence of widespread rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that conditions are favourable for the southwest monsoon to move further into parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the next three to four days. However, despite this progress, much of North India continues to experience hot and dry weather with little rainfall. Monsoon Winds Have Advanced, But Rainfall Depends on Weather Systems Meteorologists exp...

As India grapples with prolonged heatwaves, a delayed monsoon and worsening water shortages, experts say the country must move beyond emergency responses and invest in long term climate resilience. Singapore, a densely populated tropical nation that has spent decades adapting to extreme heat and humidity, is increasingly being viewed as a model for managing rising temperatures through urban planning, efficient cooling systems and large scale greening. The effects of the changing climate are already visible across India. In Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, where temperatures reached record highs earlier this summer, the Ken River has begun drying up. The receding river has exposed fertile alluvial soil, prompting farmers to cultivate vegetables directly on the riverbed. Many are using por...

Volunteer led effort revived polluted London river, but authorities say work was carried out without legal permission A British environmental lawyer who organised volunteers to clean a heavily polluted river in East London is facing a criminal investigation that could result in a prison sentence of up to two years. The case has triggered widespread public debate over whether environmental regulations are discouraging community led conservation efforts while major polluters continue to escape accountability. Paul Powlesland, an environmental campaigner, led a 10-day cleanup operation along Alders Brook, a tributary of the River Roding, in late February. Working with volunteers from the River Roding Trust, the group removed around 200 bags of litter, silt, weeds and fallen branches fro...

After days of intense heat across northern India, relief may finally be on the way. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said conditions are becoming favourable for the southwest monsoon to advance further into several northern states over the next five to six days. The forecast comes as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and nearby regions continue to experience scorching temperatures and severe heatwave conditions. According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon is expected to advance into more parts of the North Arabian Sea, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and southeast Rajasthan in phases over the coming days. Weather experts believe this progression could bring much-needed rainfall to regions that have been waiting longer than usual for the monsoon....

For decades Australia's Murray Darling Basin has been heavily regulated by dams and irrigation systems, reducing the amount of freshwater reaching the ocean by nearly 60% compared to a century ago. However massive Murray River floods during the summer of 2022-23 temporarily restored this natural connection delivering an enormous surge of water, nutrients and organic matter into the Southern Indian Ocean. Researchers found that the flood, the largest in 66 years, sent up to 168 gigalitres of water per day across the Victoria-South Australia border. The muddy flood plume stretched nearly 40 kilometres into the ocean, carrying more than 200,000 tonnes of organic carbon between July 2022 and June 2023 around 29 times more than during the same period in 2020-21. Floodwaters Created an Une...

Switzerland glaciers are set to reach "Glacier Loss Day" on June 29, marking the point when all seasonal snow has melted and any further melting directly reduces glacier ice. Scientists say the early arrival of this milestone reflects another difficult year for the country's glaciers driven by low winter snowfall, Saharan dust deposits and an intense early summer heatwave. According to researchers at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS), glaciers have been melting at nearly twice the average rate recorded between 2010 and 2020. The current pace of melting is approaching the record levels observed during the extreme summer of 2022, when glaciers lost around 6% of their total mass in a single year. Heatwaves and Low Snowfall Speed Up Glacier Melting This year...

As India works toward its climate goals while maintaining economic growth, Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) is emerging as a promising solution to reduce carbon emissions from industries that are difficult to decarbonise. Experts say the technology could become a major pillar of India's climate strategy if financial, technological and policy challenges are addressed. Climate change driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions, continues to increase global temperatures, trigger extreme weather events and threaten ecosystems, public health and economies. India faces a unique challenge because it must reduce emissions while continuing to meet the energy and development needs of its growing population. Since sectors such as power generation, cement and steel remain heavily depen...

Over 30 lakh metric tonnes of drain silt removed before monsoon, but authorities struggle to find safe disposal methods. As Delhi races to complete its annual desilting drive before the arrival of the monsoon, the city is facing an unexpected environmental problem. While authorities have removed record amounts of silt from drains to reduce flooding, they are now struggling to find space to safely dispose of the huge quantity of waste. Officials say the dredged material is no longer ordinary mud. Much of it is mixed with municipal garbage, sewage and other contaminants making it difficult to reuse or dump through conventional methods. Environmental experts warn that improper disposal could create new pollution risks even as the city prepares for heavy rains. According to the Delhi go...

For decades, the cold desert of Ladakh struggled with severe water shortages despite being surrounded by snow covered mountains. With annual rainfall of less than 100 millimetres, farmers relied on melting glaciers to irrigate crops such as barley, apples and vegetables. However glaciers usually began melting only in summer while crops needed water much earlier during the spring sowing season. As climate change accelerates glacier retreat and makes rainfall increasingly unpredictable region’s water crisis has become even more serious. Birth of the Ice Stupa To solve this seasonal water shortage, engineer and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk introduced an innovative idea known as the "ice stupa" around 2014-15. The concept stores excess water flowing from mountain streams during wint...

A new international study has found that the world's tropical forests are absorbing significantly less carbon dioxide than scientists had previously estimated, raising fresh concerns about the planet's ability to naturally slow climate change. The findings suggest that current climate models may be overestimating the role tropical forests play as carbon sinks, meaning more carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) analyzed atmospheric measurements collected during NASA's Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission between 2016 and 2018. Using a specially equipped NASA DC-8 research aircraft.scientists flew across the globe from the Arctic to Antarctica, gathering carbon ...