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    Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday released an official letter to counter allegations that the state government failed to seek central assistance for recent flood damage. The move came after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Member of Parliament Omraje Nimbalkar claimed that Maharashtra had not submitted the mandatory crop damage report to secure financial support from the Union government. Nimbalkar had earlier spoken to a regional news channel, stating that a reply he received in the Lok Sabha suggested the state had not sent a flood loss assessment. “If the state maintains it has already submitted the proposal, then why does the official response say otherwise? Farmers deserve transparency,” he said. Responding to this, Bawa...

    Global trade is continuing to expand despite tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty and shifting supply chains. Goods trade grew by an estimated four per cent in the first months of 2025, defying widespread expectations of a slowdown. Shipping routes are being reorganised, manufacturers have adapted to new trade corridors, and companies appear increasingly able to operate in a fractured geopolitical environment. However, the Trade and Development Report 2025 titled *On the Brink* paints a very different picture beneath the surface. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the apparent resilience of trade activity hides a serious vulnerability in the financial system supporting global commerce. The report argues that world trade is bein...

    The Antarctic ozone hole has fully closed earlier than usual this year, creating an unexpected moment of environmental optimism despite record global temperatures and continuing climate risks. Copernicus, the European Earth observation agency, confirmed that the ozone hole, which formed in August, had completely healed by December 1, 2025. The early closure comes at a time when October 2025 recorded a temperature 1.55 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average of 1850 to 1900. Yet, according to scientists, the ozone layer displayed one of its strongest signs of recovery in recent years. Copernicus reported that the 2025 ozone hole was the smallest in five years. It was the second consecutive year in which the ozone hole remained relatively limited in s...

    Scientists are warning that large parts of New Delhi are sinking at an alarming rate, posing growing risks to buildings, infrastructure and public safety. New research shows that land near Indira Gandhi International Airport is subsiding faster than in any other Indian megacity, driven mainly by heavy groundwater extraction in areas where piped water remains scarce. Published in Nature, the study analyzed satellite radar data collected between 2015 and 2023 by researchers from India, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The findings identified three major “sinking hotspots,” all within a 12-square-kilometer radius of the airport. Across New Delhi alone, more than 2,200 buildings in a 100-square-kilometer zone are already at risk of structural damage. If...

A new study has raised concerns over forest carbon projects across Southeast Asia, warning that schemes designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are struggling to deliver social protections and biodiversity benefits. Despite their promise as tools to combat climate change, weak governance, insecure land rights and fragmented policy frameworks are limiting their success. Researchers examined 170 social science reports on forest carbon programs, including REDD+ initiatives, and found repeated shortcomings. Projects often prioritize carbon profits over community rights, and in many cases, Indigenous peoples have faced harassment, legal challenges and loss of access to traditional lands. One prominent example is Cambodia’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, where communities reported crop des...

Throwing plastic bottles, cups or wrappers into a recycling bin may feel like the right thing to do, but experts say this habit will not solve the world’s growing plastic pollution problem. According to environmental researchers, recycling has been promoted for decades as a solution, yet it has failed to stop the rising tide of plastic waste harming ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. In the United States, less than six percent of plastic waste is actually recycled, a figure that surprises many consumers who have been encouraged for years to separate their trash and believe their efforts make a significant difference. Former officials and environmental groups say this belief was never entirely true. Instead, they argue that major fossil fuel and chemical companies intentionally prom...

New Delhi: Air quality in the national capital deteriorated sharply on Tuesday evening, pushing several parts of the city back into the hazardous category. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed a rapid rise in pollution levels over the last forty-eight hours, with nineteen out of thirty-nine monitoring stations recording air quality in the “severe” range. By 9 p.m., Delhi registered an Air Quality Index reading of 390, a steep increase from 304 on Monday and 279 on Sunday. The areas showing the highest concentration of pollutants included Burari, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Bawana, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Sonia Vihar, and Ashok Vihar. The Air Quality Early Warning System has stated that no immediate relief is expected. According to its forecast, the city’s air qual...

New Delhi - Groundwater contamination in the capital has emerged as a serious public health concern, with the latest Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025 indicating that between 13-15 % of water samples collected in Delhi were contaminated with uranium above the permissible limit of 30 ppb (parts per billion). The report, released by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is based on approximately 15,000 amples gathered across India in 2024. It places Delhi as a key hotspot, ranking it among the states with the highest proportion of uranium contamination after Punjab and Haryana. The contamination is part of a larger trend in northwestern India, with Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and parts of Rajasthan and UP emerging as the main uranium hotspot. The CGW...

Gurugram - Residents in several sectors of Gurugram have been urged to conserve water as the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has announced a 48 hour suspension of water supply starting Wednesday, December 3. The disruption, which commenced at 11 AM on December 3 and will conclude at 11AM on December 5, is necessary to facilitate essential maintenance work. This includes the connection of a new 1,600 mm water pipeline at the Sector 51 pumping station and various preventive maintenance activities at the Chandu Budhera water treatment plant (WTP). The following areas will be impacted by the closure: • Sector 37 • All sectors from 42 to 74 • Villages of Badshahpur and Khandsa The GMDA has requested all residents in the affected areas to minimize inconvenien...

    Rome — The global food system is approaching a critical breaking point as agriculture will need to produce approximately 50 percent more food, animal feed and fiber by 2050 than it did in 2012 to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population. This warning comes from the latest edition of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s report, The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture 2025 (SOLAW 2025). The study highlights severe pressure on natural resources and warns that current farming practices are undermining agriculture’s future ability to sustain food supplies. Released on December 1, the report describes a worsening cycle where land, soil and water are being depleted faster than they can regenerate. As these natural foundations er...