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    For years, rainforest travellers in Central and South America have heard a curious story: a mysterious “walking tree” that slowly moves across the forest floor in search of sunlight. The tale appears in guidebooks, travel blogs and tourist conversations, describing a tree that can shift a few centimetres a day or even metres in a year. The truth, however, is far more scientific and even more interesting than the myth. Where the legend began The myth centres on a palm species called Socratea exorrhiza widely known as the walking palm. It grows in the rainforests of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and other tropical regions. The belief that the tree “walks” comes from its unusual structure: a set of long, stilt-like roots that grow above the ground...

Western India’s vast savannas often dismissed as bare or degraded land are much older and more ecologically important than previously believed. Western India’s vast savannas often dismissed as bare or degraded land are much older and more ecologically important than previously believed. A new study based on medieval Marathi literature reveals that these open, grassy landscapes have existed for centuries and should be protected in their natural form rather than targeted for unnecessary tree-planting. Ancient savannas hiding in plain sight Savannas cover nearly a tenth of India’s land area. These ecosystems include short grasses, thorny trees, drought-resistant shrubs and support pastoral communities as well as wildlife such as the Indian wolf and the Great Indian bustard. More than 20...

    The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is moving beyond its traditional NCR-focused approach and has proposed a major shift in tackling industrial emissions. The panel has asked Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab to prepare action plans to eliminate the use of coal in industries located outside NCR districts, signalling an expanded strategy aimed at cutting pollution across a wider region. Coal-free industry plan sought within three months In a note submitted before the Supreme Court on November 19, the CAQM directed neighbouring states to draft plans to phase out coal from all industries operating in non-NCR districts. The proposal must be submitted within three months. Until now, most regulatory attention outside NCR had centred on stubble bu...

    Global forests remain under severe pressure even as countries promise to reduce deforestation. A new analysis released after the UN climate summit in Belém shows that the world is far off track from the goal of halting and reversing forest loss by 2030. The findings highlight a widening “forest gap” and underline the need for urgent, equitable and accountable global action. Why forest protection is back in focus Before last month’s climate summit, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva urged world leaders to commit to clear roadmaps for phasing out fossil fuels and stopping deforestation. However, after countries failed to reach consensus, the plans were announced only as a voluntary initiative. Brazil will now report back on progress at COP31 next year, where Turkey wi...

    Air quality in Patna turned worse than Delhi on December 10, according to the latest figures from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Bihar capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 335 on Tuesday morning, placing it in the ‘severe’ and ‘unhealthy’ category. At the same time, Delhi’s Dwarka recorded an AQI of 326, making Patna’s air even more polluted than the national capital’s. Samanpura marked as Patna’s biggest red zone Samanpura, a densely populated locality in central Patna, registered an AQI of 335 at 7 am. The Bihar Pollution Control Board (BPCB) has already identified Samanpura and its neighbouring areas Ashiana, Khajpura and Raja Bazaar as red zones for continuously recording dangerously high pollution levels. These localities are barely...

The New Zealand Government has unveiled a comprehensive set of transition measures designed to ensure a fair, smooth and orderly shift from the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to the country’s new planning and environmental management framework by 2031. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court reaffirmed that these steps will provide certainty for consent holders, councils and communities during one of the most significant planning reforms in decades. Urgent Legislation to Extend Existing Consents To prevent disruption during the transition, Bishop confirmed that legislation will be introduced and passed under urgency in the coming days. The new law will automatically extend the expiry dates of existing consents, sparing thousands of consent holders from co...

The remarkable recovery of sea turtles around the world has taken another hopeful leap forward, with new findings showing that more than one million olive ridley turtle nests were counted along India’s western coastline this year. The figure, reported by NPR, is nearly ten times higher than the numbers documented two decades ago, offering a powerful example of how long-term conservation can reverse even the most worrying declines. Olive ridley turtles are the most abundant sea turtle species globally, yet they remain listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In India, their nesting beaches stretch across states such as Maharashtra and Odisha, where they have long been part of both local ecology and coastal culture. At the Velas Turtle Festival last Apri...

    The final week of November brought destruction across Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand as Cyclones Ditwah and Senyar released continuous and intense rainfall. Millions of people were affected, more than 1,500 lives were lost, hundreds remain missing and damages reached massive financial levels. Sri Lanka’s president described the event as one of the most severe natural disasters the country has ever experienced. Weak Winds but Extremely High Rainfall Although both storms were devastating, neither of them were strong in terms of wind. Cyclone Ditwah recorded peak winds of around 75 kilometres per hour, a level that would be considered only a “gale” in the United Kingdom and far below the strength of historic cyclones. Yet Ditwah caused widespread flooding, landsli...

    A recent international study has uncovered a rare and alarming disruption of the tropical upwelling system in the Gulf of Panama, revealing just how vulnerable warm-water marine environments may be to climate-related changes. The research team, which includes scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and multiple global partners, warns that the collapse of this natural process triggered rapid and widespread ecological damage. Fisheries Shrink as Plankton Levels Plummet The sudden disappearance of upwelling normally responsible for bringing cool, nutrient-rich water to the surface caused an immediate breakdown in the food web. Phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that form the foundation of marine life, dec...