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  The Ladakh administration has launched a project to revive the rapidly shrinking Tso Kar Lake by diverting untapped glacier water from the Rupsho Kharnak stream in the Changthang region. The project aims to channelise up to 132 cusecs, or about 320 million litres, of glacier water per day into the lake. The water currently flows into the Sindhu River. Tso Kar, once spread across nearly 11,000 acres, has reportedly shrunk to around 3,200 acres over the past decade affecting its wetlands, grazing grounds and migratory bird population. The Rupsho Kharnak stream is located about 11 km from Tso Kar at an altitude of nearly 18,000 feet. Under the plan, the glacier runoff will pass through three natural depressions covering approximately 270 acres, 24 acres and 10 acres before rea...

Microplastics in agricultural soil could act as carriers for pollutants, pesticides, microbes and antibiotic resistance genes, potentially creating a wider threat to soil health and food production according to findings from a five year international research project. The EU funded Minagris project which has produced 22 peer reviewed studies so far detected microplastics in all 227 agricultural fields examined across 11 European countries. Researchers said the contamination reflected both present day farming practices and historical land use, highlighting the persistence of plastic pollution in soils. Microplastics create microbial ‘hotspots’ Researchers found that microplastics can provide surfaces for microorganisms to colonise, creating what scientists call the “plastisphere”. ...

  MINAMATA BAY: Japan Along the eastern shore of Minamata Bay sits 58 hectares of reclaimed land a synthetic peninsula capped with mountain soil. Beneath this quiet coastal expanse lies approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of highly toxic bottom sediment containing mercury concentrations above 25 parts per million (ppm). The landfill represents one of Japan's most massive environmental engineering efforts: a 16-year, 48 billion yen ($300+ million) endeavor aimed at sealing away the physical remnants of the nation's most notorious industrial poisoning tragedy. The Legacy in the Mud Minamata disease a severe neurological syndrome caused by methylmercury poisoning was first officially discovered in 1956. The source was traced back to chemical manufacturer Chisso Corporation...

  Lake Pateros, near Pateros in north central Washington, is part of one of the most productive hydroelectric corridors in the United States. Formed by Wells Dam on the Columbia River, the reservoir combines a major power project with the scenic landscape and recreational opportunities of the upper Columbia. Recent annual generation at Wells Dam was roughly 4.3 terawatt hours equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 415,000 average U.S. homes, using the 2024 U.S. residential benchmark of 10,356 kilowatt-hours per household. Wells Dam is operated by Douglas County PUD and has ten generating units with roughly 840 megawatts of peaking capacity. Unlike many conventional dam designs, Wells uses a distinctive hydrocombine arrangement that integrates the ge...

BEIJING — River systems worldwide are sweeping roughly 263,000 metric tons of microplastics into the oceans every year a far greater discharge than previously understood according to new research published in Science. The findings led by Hehao Qin of Peking University, resolve long standing discrepancies in global plastic estimates. Previous computer models generated wild variations ranging from 6,100 to 2.31 million metric tons annually due to a lack of field data, inconsistent net sizes during sampling, and static modeling that ignored sudden weather events. Standardizing the Global Flow To correct these blind spots, the international team built a daily tracking model trained on 1,386 real world microplastic measurements from rivers across the globe. By applying mathematical adj...

Nairobi Flyways Declaration calls for coordinated conservation efforts across countries and continents as threats to migratory birds intensify. Nearly half of the world’s migratory bird species are declining in number, while one in nine faces the threat of extinction, according to the latest State of the World’s Birds report released by BirdLife International. The report, launched on September 11 at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, warns of accelerating losses among migratory birds but also points to evidence that coordinated conservation action across borders can reverse population declines. According to the report, 45 per cent of migratory bird species are in decline while one in nine is threatened with extinction. The latest edition of the report is the first to focus spec...

  New Delhi clears electricity exports to Nepal for 18 hours a day until December 31 amid severe disruption to hydropower infrastructure. India has approved expedited electricity exports to Nepal following devastating floods that damaged hydropower infrastructure and caused widespread destruction across the Himalayan country. The Ministry of Power has authorised electricity exports to Nepal for 18 hours a day from September 13 through December 31, 2026, enabling Kathmandu to meet its power requirements as it recovers from the disaster. “The approval will help Nepal meet its power requirements during this difficult period and further strengthen the close and longstanding energy cooperation between India and Nepal,” the Ministry of Power said. The ministry also said the quan...

Deep inside a limestone mountain in central Vietnam lies an underground landscape unlike almost any other on Earth. Hang Son Doong, regarded as the world’s largest known single cave passage, is so vast that sunlight enters through collapsed sections of its roof, supporting a forest beneath the surface. The cave stretches for at least 4 miles (6.5 kilometres), with chambers reaching approximately 655 feet (200 metres) in height and 490 feet (150 metres) in width. Its enormous scale has transformed the idea of what a cave can be from a dark, confined tunnel into a landscape containing forests, rivers, mist and wildlife. Son Doong is located within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam’s Quang Binh province. A Cave Large Enough to Contain a Forest Two major collapses in the c...

Scientists have discovered that marine bacteria can work together to break down fucoidan, a complex carbohydrate produced by brown algae and diatoms that plays an important role in the ocean’s carbon cycle. The study shows that no single bacterial species is capable of completely degrading the molecule. Instead, different bacteria divide the task according to their specialised abilities, collectively making the breakdown process far more efficient. Fucoidan forms part of the protective outer structures of algae and has a highly complicated chemical architecture, containing numerous sugar linkages and branching patterns. Its resistance to microbial decomposition allows some of it to sink into deeper ocean waters, carrying carbon with it and potentially contributing to long-term carbon...

NEW DELHI — India’s southwest monsoon is showing early signs of withdrawal from parts of northwest India, though widespread heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms, and gusty winds continue to sweep across multiple states, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Favorable conditions for the monsoon's official retreat from parts of Rajasthan are expected to take shape around September 19. Despite the seasonal transition, active weather systems including a low pressure area over southwest Rajasthan and adjoining regions continue to drive unsettled conditions across the subcontinent. Regional Breakdown & Meteorological Impact Yellow Alerts Issued IMD has put regions including Haryana, Punjab, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of Karna...