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A new study by wildcat conservation NGO Panthera has revealed that cultural and traditional practices across Africa are posing a significant yet overlooked threat to wildcat species such as leopards, lions, servals, and cheetahs. The research, published in March 2025, highlights how wildlife parts like skins, claws, and bones continue to be used in rituals, ceremonies, and attire by traditional leaders, healers, and religious groups. While habitat loss and poaching have long been recognized as major conservation challenges, the study notes that cultural demand for wildcat parts remains poorly understood and under-addressed. Co-author Marine Drouilly from Panthera said that many conservation efforts fail because they ignore local beliefs and traditions. “Cultural practices such as using ...

The Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (HABSS) has strongly opposed the Chhattisgarh High Court’s decision to uphold the cancellation of Community Forest Rights (CFR) granted to Ghatbarra village in Surguja district, calling the verdict “troubling” and “deeply disappointing.” The organisation said this marks the first time in India that a community forest right has been revoked, setting a dangerous precedent for forest-dwelling communities across the country. The High Court single-judge bench dismissed the petition on October 8, stating that HABSS lacked the legal standing to challenge the revocation. In response, HABSS argued that the court disregarded key evidence including individual affidavits and a resolution signed by over 200 villagers confirming their right to be represented ...

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has launched an ambitious three-month plan to overhaul the city’s sanitation system and improve overall cleanliness. The initiative will target illegal garbage dumping, enhance road cleaning, and tighten monitoring to prevent waste accumulation, officials said. The plan was finalised during a review meeting chaired by MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya on Friday. Dahiya directed officials to identify all garbage-vulnerable points (GVPs) across the city and eliminate them within a week. “Each joint commissioner will assess the GVPs in their respective zones and prepare a time-bound action plan for their removal. The focus is on reducing open dumping sites and strengthening door-to-door waste collection,” he said. The MCG is also introducing per...

Hundreds of dead seal pups have been found on Heard Island, a remote Australian territory in the southern Indian Ocean, with scientists fearing an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 avian flu a virus that has devastated wildlife populations worldwide since 2021. The discovery was made during a recent 10-day expedition by researchers from the Australian Antarctic Division. The team initially reported healthy wildlife in the area but later came across numerous seal carcasses scattered along the island’s shores, prompting urgent investigations. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has confirmed that tests are underway to determine whether the highly contagious H5N1 strain is responsible. Officials suspect the virus may have reached the island after it was detected o...

Delhi witnessed a sharp dip in temperatures, recording its coldest October night in two years at 17°C, signalling an early onset of winter conditions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the minimum temperature was slightly below normal, while the maximum reached 32.3°C. Mist and light fog are expected in the early mornings over the weekend, with temperatures likely to remain stable around current levels. The city’s air quality showed a marginal improvement after four consecutive days in the ‘very poor’ range. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) placed Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 275, categorised as ‘poor’. However, several pockets, including Anand Vihar, continued to experience hazardous conditions with an AQI of 414 — among the highest...

The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, stretches across 10,000 sq km of the India-Bangladesh border a labyrinth of tidal creeks, mudflats, and islands shaped by the Bay of Bengal. This UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its unique biodiversity home to Bengal tigers, crocodiles, fishing cats, deer, and hundreds of bird and fish species. But behind this ecological wonder lies a harsher reality the struggle of millions who live amid rising seas, vanishing land, and historical marginalisation. For the Dalit and Adivasi communities who make up much of the Sundarbans’ population, survival has always meant resilience. Their ancestors were brought here nearly two centuries ago to clear forests for agriculture under British rule. Today, their descendants are battling new forms...

A fresh low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by October 27, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The developing system could bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across coastal Odisha and southern West Bengal from Monday. According to Manorama Mohanty, director of the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, the system has been moving west-northwestward and is likely to strengthen over the next few days. “It will become a depression by October 25, deepen further on October 26, and intensify into a cyclonic storm by the morning of October 27,” Mohanty said. While it’s too early to determine the storm’s exact landfall location, the IMD warned that Odisha’s coastal districts will be most affected between Octo...

What will our planet look like in the year 2100? A new online game called FutureGuessr is helping people imagine just that. Launched in June 2025, the free interactive game combines climate communication with visual storytelling, showing players futuristic images of places transformed by climate change and asking them to guess where they are. Developed in partnership with Réseau Action Climat, the game takes inspiration from the popular geography challenge GeoGuessr. But instead of exploring the present world, FutureGuessr immerses players in visual projections of Earth’s future revealing how melting ice caps, rising seas, and extreme weather may reshape landscapes. Available in English and French, the game aims to make climate science personal and engaging. Once a player makes a gue...

About 50 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, the small fishing village of Khun Samut Chin stands as a stark symbol of how climate change is reshaping coastal life. Once a thriving settlement surrounded by mangroves and fertile land, the village is now being swallowed by the sea at an alarming rate. Thailand’s coast is eroding by nearly a meter each year across hundreds of kilometers, but in Khun Samut Chin, the problem is far worse. The shoreline retreats by up to five meters annually, and the land itself is sinking by one to two centimeters every year. Since the 1990s, more than six square kilometers have vanished beneath the waves. Only one part of the original village remains visible a Buddhist temple now surrounded by water, earning the name “the floating temple.” While climate chan...

A new global report has revealed that the world’s largest meat and dairy producers are now emitting more methane than major fossil fuel companies, making them key drivers of the climate crisis. The study, titled Roasting the Planet was released by Foodrise, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It found that 45 of the biggest meat and dairy corporations together emitted about 1.02 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2023 more than the annual emissions of Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer. If these companies were a country, they would rank as the planet’s ninth-largest emitter. Methane, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, accounted for 51 percent of these emissi...