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  The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Himachal Pradesh, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in parts of the state on Monday and Tuesday. Heavy to very heavy rain is also expected at isolated places in Uttarakhand, east Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh. Several other states are likely to experience heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds as the southwest monsoon remains active. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are expected to remain wet over the coming days. The Shimla Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh with wet conditions likely to continue through August 14. In east Rajasthan heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast on Monday with very heavy rain possi...

A NASA satellite has captured a striking turquoise and green halo surrounding New Zealand's Chatham Islands, revealing a large summer phytoplankton bloom shaped by ocean currents and an underwater plateau. The image, recorded on January 10, 2026, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the NOAA-20 satellite, shows swirling bands of phytoplankton around the remote island group located about 800 kilometres east of New Zealand's South Island. Scientists said the bloom was driven by the Chatham Rise, a vast underwater plateau measuring about 800 kilometres long and 300 kilometres wide. The submerged feature helps maintain the boundary between cold, nutrient-rich Antarctic waters and warmer subtropical waters, creating favourable conditions for phytoplankton growth...

  Europe's forests are losing aboveground biomass at an unprecedented rate, with annual biomass loss per hectare increasing by 46% since 2018 compared to the previous three decades according to a new satellite based study published in Nature Geoscience. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich analysed satellite data from 1985 to 2023 to assess changes in forest biomass, which represents the amount of carbon stored in trees. The study found a sharp rise in biomass loss after 2018, raising concerns that Europe's forests are becoming less effective at absorbing carbon dioxide as climate change intensifies. Unlike earlier studies that focused mainly on tree cover, the researchers combined satellite observations of forest cover with biomass density data to estimate car...

  Scientists have discovered evidence of an ancient seawater reservoir hidden beneath Antarctica ice after detecting marine microbial DNA in an iron rich red brine pool in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience. Researchers found environmental DNA belonging to marine microorganisms in the highly saline underground brine, supporting the theory that ancient seawater became trapped beneath expanding glaciers and remained isolated for thousands of years. The study explains that the brine's distinctive red colour is caused by iron rich water reacting with oxygen when it reaches the surface, rather than by algae or pigmented microbes. The McMurdo Dry Valleys, the largest ice free region in Antarctica, receive very little snowfall and have ex...

  Fresh eviction orders issued in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve have reignited concerns over the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), with experts alleging that authorities and the judiciary are misinterpreting key provisions of the law. Agasthyamalai, a 3,500 square kilometre biosphere reserve spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala, is home to several indigenous and traditional forest dwelling communities whose rights are protected under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. According to the report, the recent eviction actions continue a pattern of restricting the rights of forest dependent communities despite legal safeguards provided under the FRA. The article argues that the FRA does not requir...

  New Delhi, August 8, 2026: A rapidly strengthening El Niño in the equatorial Pacific Ocean is expected to coincide with a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) between August and October, potentially producing significant changes in temperature and rainfall patterns around the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The developing El Niño is already being described by some climate experts as exceptionally strong. Forecasts indicate that sea surface temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region could exceed 2.9°C during the August-October period, putting the event among the strongest El Niño episodes on record.  El Niño intensifies rapidly El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation a natural climate pattern involving changes in ocea...

  New Delhi, August 8, 2026: A massive shield of towering clouds has developed over large parts of the Indian Ocean, signalling strong atmospheric activity and an abundant supply of moisture. However, meteorologists say the current cloud build-up does not necessarily mean that India is about to witness a widespread spell of heavy rainfall. Latest thermal infrared imagery from INSAT-3DS shows an extensive cloud mass stretching across the equatorial and central Indian Ocean. The bright white cloud tops indicate extremely cold clouds rising to heights of around 15–16 kilometres, suggesting strong thunderstorm activity over the ocean. At first glance, the widespread convection could appear to be a sign of a strengthening southwest monsoon. However, weather experts point out that ...

  Fresh eviction orders issued in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve have reignited concerns over the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), with experts alleging that authorities and the judiciary are misinterpreting key provisions of the law. Agasthyamalai, a 3,500 square kilometre biosphere reserve spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala, is home to several indigenous and traditional forest dwelling communities whose rights are protected under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. According to the report, the recent eviction actions continue a pattern of restricting the rights of forest dependent communities despite legal safeguards provided under the FRA. The article argues that the FRA does not requir...

  A developing positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) coupled with a rapidly intensifying Super El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, could significantly influence weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere during the 2026–27 winter according to the latest long range seasonal forecasts. The emerging IOD characterised by warmer than normal waters in the western Indian Ocean and cooler waters in the eastern basin, is expected to persist through autumn and into early winter. Meteorologists say this tropical ocean pattern may work in tandem with the strengthening Super El Niño, amplifying atmospheric circulation and altering jet stream behaviour across North America and Europe. The Indian Ocean Dipole is a climate phenomenon caused by contrasting sea surface temperatures between the eas...

  Microplastics have reached some of the world's most remote marine ecosystems with a new study detecting plastic particles in nearly all deep sea snails and mussels sampled from hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The study published in Water Research, analysed 12 mussels and snails collected from hydrothermal vents nearly 2,000 metres below the ocean surface during research expeditions conducted between 2016 and 2019. Researchers found microplastics in 11 of the 12 animals examined. Scientists from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology said the findings reveal that plastic pollution has penetrated even isolated deep sea environments. They noted that the chemical signature found in animals living thousands of metr...