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Delhi spent 78–83% of winter days under GRAP Stage II or higher over the past four winters highlighting the need for year round emission controls and stronger public transport. Delhi is once again preparing for deteriorating air quality as October draws to a close, raising concerns about the effectiveness of seasonal pollution restrictions. Although late monsoon rainfall and sustained winds provided temporary relief this year experts warn that the underlying causes of the capital’s pollution crisis remain unresolved. The delayed onset of winter smog has been attributed partly to favourable weather conditions that helped disperse fine particulate matter. However, falling temperatures, weaker winds and the seasonal rise in agricultural residue burning across Punjab and Haryana could wors...

  Tucson, Arizona, could face a major water challenge if Lake Mead falls to “dead pool” levels preventing water from flowing downstream through Hoover Dam. However, the city’s extensive underground water reserves could help protect its residents from an immediate supply crisis. According to a report published by WorldAtlas on October 27, 2026 Lake Mead’s water level reached 1,037.16 feet on October 22, its lowest recorded level, leaving it approximately 142 feet above dead pool. At that point, the reservoir’s surface would fall below Hoover Dam’s lowest outlet gates preventing water from being released downstream by gravity. Tucson receives Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) a 336 mile canal that transports water from Lake Havasu to communities acr...

  The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) has identified 13 priority seabird species and designated high risk areas for their protection but stopped short of adopting new mandatory measures to reduce seabird deaths caused by commercial fishing. At its annual meeting held in Brussels from October 5 to 8, 2026, the eight member commission discussed proposals to strengthen protections for seabirds, particularly albatrosses and petrels that are accidentally caught by longline fishing vessels targeting southern bluefin tuna. Although members agreed on the priority species and risk areas, disagreements among participating nations prevented the adoption of additional conservation requirements. Oliver Yates, head of the marine programme at BirdLife Internatio...

  The devastating 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington destroyed vast areas of forest, covering the landscape with ash, volcanic rock and debris. More than four decades later, trees and other vegetation have returned across much of the affected region, offering valuable insights into how forests recover after catastrophic disturbances. The recovery has been driven by a combination of natural processes, including trees surviving beneath snow, plants improving soil conditions and underground animals bringing buried soil and fungi to the surface. While some areas were replanted by humans, large parts of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument have been left to regenerate naturally. Snow Saved Trees From the Blast Deep snowbanks protected some Pacific silver fir...

New accounting methods promoted by the chemical recycling industry are raising concerns among environmental groups, who warn that they could allow plastic products to be labelled as recycled even when they contain little or no recycled material. As governments and scientists push for reductions in plastic production, the industry is increasingly promoting chemical recycling, also known as advanced recycling, as a solution to the global plastic waste crisis. However, critics argue that the technology produces limited amounts of recycled plastic while creating pollution and potential health risks. One of the most widely used chemical recycling methods is pyrolysis, which uses high temperatures and pressure to break down plastic waste into oil and other chemical components. The oil must...

  The central equatorial Pacific Ocean recorded sea surface temperatures of around 30°C on October 22, 2026 as an unusually strong El Niño continues to intensify according to an India Today report citing data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The reading crossed a temperature threshold not seen in the available records, highlighting the unusually warm conditions developing across the Pacific. Scientists closely monitor sea surface temperatures in this region to assess the strength and evolution of El Niño, a climate phenomenon that can influence weather patterns around the world. El Niño occurs when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific become warmer than normal, affecting atmospheric circulation and shifting ra...

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of two Japanese mountaineers who went missing while attempting to climb an unexplored Himalayan peak in Nepal an expedition organiser said on Friday. The climbers were attempting to make the first ascent of Gangapurna West a 7,140 metre (23,425-foot) mountain, using an alpine style climbing approach. They lost contact with their support team after October 15. According to Kumar Chhetri of Cosmo Adventure, which provided logistical support for the expedition, the search operation began after the climbers failed to return to their base camp on October 18 as scheduled. The rescue team spotted the bodies at an altitude of approximately 6,300 metres. Searchers had earlier located the climbers’ camping sites and later discovered a rucksack and ropes in...

  Indigenous communities across the Amazon are losing access to clean water as illegal mining, deforestation cattle ranching and other human activities transform rivers, streams and lakes a major investigation has found. The investigation analysed 722 micro watersheds feeding four major river basins the Beni in Bolivia, the Caquetá in Colombia, the Madre de Dios in Peru and the Caroní in Venezuela over a 25 year period from 2000 to 2024. These areas are home to at least 74 Indigenous groups across 202 territories. The findings show that the four river basins lost nearly 33,000 hectares of natural water bodies during the period. More than half of the micro watersheds studied, 393 out of 722, recorded a decline in natural water resources. Researchers also identified more tha...

Volunteers in Rhode Island United States, have collected more than 600 discarded Christmas trees in 2026 and are reusing them to restore damaged riverbanks reduce soil erosion and create safe habitats for young trout. The initiative, known as “Trees for Trout”, is a joint effort by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and the state chapter of Trout Unlimited. Instead of sending used evergreen trees to landfills, residents donated them at collection events held at the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter. The collected trees are being installed along damaged streams in the Wood River watershed, where powerful storms and severe flooding have increased riverbank erosion. These conditions have widened and shallowed some river channels makin...