Month: September 2026

  NEW DELHI: India transition towards cleaner and low carbon cities faces two interconnected challenges weak municipal waste management systems that contribute to open waste burning and poor quality employment in emerging green sectors, according to two new working papers by World Resources Institute (WRI) India. One study, based on field surveys across 11 polluted Indian cities found that open waste burning was about three times higher in winter than in summer with poorer neighbourhoods bearing the greatest burden. A second study focusing on Bengaluru’s buildings sector found that the shift towards green buildings is creating demand for new skills, but construction workers continue to face gaps in safety, job security, wages, social protection and gender inclusion. Together,...

New modelling of 3,735 future scenarios shows that lower income populations could face far greater resource pressures than wealthier groups, with food costs potentially consuming nearly half of income in parts of Africa. Global access to food, water and energy could become increasingly unequal by 2050, with lower income populations in several regions facing substantially greater resource insecurity than wealthier groups, according to a new study involving researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study published in Earth’s Future examined 3,735 scenarios to assess how economic conditions, climate change, agriculture, land use, trade, energy systems, water availability and income distribution could shape future resource security. Researchers found that t...

  CM Rekha Gupta initiates process for a dedicated force of up to 1,100 personnel to strengthen Delhi’s emergency preparedness and reduce dependence on external disaster response agencies NEW DELHI: Days after the deadly building collapse in South Delhi’s Satya Niketan that claimed seven lives, the Delhi government has initiated the process of establishing its own State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to strengthen the national Capital’s ability to respond to major emergencies. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the move following a high level meeting at the Delhi Secretariat, where officials discussed the structure and requirements for creating a dedicated disaster response unit for the city. Delhi has so far relied on the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire ...

  Canada last known epishelf lake has disappeared permanently after the 2020 breakup of the Milne Ice Shelf in the High Arctic according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. Researchers say the freshwater ecosystem drained into the Arctic Ocean within months of the ice shelf collapse and has shown no signs of recovery. The Milne Fiord epishelf lake was located on northern Ellesmere Island in Nunavut. Epishelf lakes form when an ice shelf acts as a natural dam, trapping freshwater above denser seawater that remains connected to the ocean. The unusual environment supported freshwater microorganisms near the surface while marine species lived in the seawater below. In July 2020, the Milne Ice Shelf broke apart, losing about 45% of its area. The collapse removed the ba...

  GUWAHATI, Sept 11: Arunachal Pradesh has 197 expanding glacial lakes, including 32 classified as high risk and requiring active mitigation, raising concerns over potential glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in downstream river systems in Assam and Bhutan, according to river expert Prof Nayan Sarma. Sarma told The Assam Tribune that Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, located in the highly vulnerable Eastern Himalayas, are witnessing rapid glacier melt that is creating and expanding unstable proglacial lakes. Among the river systems considered vulnerable to GLOF events are the Tawang Chu, also known as Mago Chu, and the Dibang in Arunachal Pradesh, as well as the Punatsang Chhu and Kuri Chu in Bhutan. The Kameng Chu in Tawang district is also considered vulnerable because of ...

he devastating glacier-related disaster near the Nepal Tibet border has highlighted the growing difficulty of predicting sudden mountain collapses as climate change accelerates the loss of ice and destabilises high altitude landscapes. On August 26, a massive section of a mountain collapsed, sending an estimated 7 billion cubic feet of glacial ice and rock plunging roughly a mile into a river. The impact generated a wall of muddy water that travelled downstream at speeds reported to have reached nearly 100 miles per hour, destroying villages and killing more than 1,300 people, while thousands remained missing. Scientists say the precise sequence of events will take months to establish, but the disaster demonstrates a broader climate risk: warming is altering glaciers, permafrost, roc...

  Yemen’s Iran aligned Houthi forces have reached the strategically important Perim island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, tightening their position around a key global maritime chokepoint and raising concerns over further disruption to international shipping and oil supplies. Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters on September 11 that Houthi forces had reached the island after government-backed forces withdrew. Two sources also said the Houthis had captured the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces Perim. Control of the Bab el-Mandeb would give the Houthis a strategically significant position opposite the Strait of Hormuz, another crucial oil and shipping corridor. The development could increase pressure on global energy markets, particularly as shipping thr...

  More than 171 million students or one in 10 children from pre-primary to upper secondary age worldwide had their education disrupted by climate related hazards in 2025, according to a new analysis by UNICEF. The report Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate Related School Disruptions in 2025 analysed data from 106 countries and territories. It found that storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires disrupted education through school closures, damaged infrastructure, reduced attendance, shortened instructional time and shifts to remote learning. “Climate hazards do more than disrupt lessons, they destroy schools, uproot families, and push the most vulnerable children, especially girls, out of the classroom for good,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell...

  Climate related hazards such as floods, storms, extreme heat and landslides can deepen existing inequalities for people with disabilities by turning inaccessible infrastructure, communication systems and emergency services into additional barriers a new study from Kerala has found. The study published in Global Environmental Change examined how people with disabilities experience and respond to climate change. Researchers conducted 72 semi structured interviews with people with disabilities, caregivers and institutional stakeholders between February 2023 and June 2024. The findings show that climate vulnerability is shaped not simply by disability but by physical, social, economic and institutional barriers. These include inaccessible early warning systems, evacuation route...

The Southern Ocean currently absorbs about 10% of human caused carbon emissions, but researchers say it could become a net source of carbon dioxide if atmospheric CO2 concentrations begin to decline after global net zero emissions are achieved. The Southern Ocean, the world’s largest regional carbon sink, could eventually begin releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs once global emissions reach net zero and atmospheric CO2 levels fall, according to a new study reported by New Scientist. The finding highlights a major challenge for efforts to reverse climate change. Researchers say the ocean’s response to declining atmospheric carbon dioxide could prolong global warming for centuries, even if humanity succeeds in removing enormous quantities of CO2 from the a...