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In a major environmental cleanup, the Jammu and Kashmir government has started removing over 11 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste from the Achan landfill, Srinagar’s largest dumping ground that has long caused distress to nearby residents. Officials say the waste, piled up over three decades, will take around two years to be fully cleared. Spread across nearly 75 acres and located eight kilometres from Srinagar commercial centre, the landfill has been a constant source of foul smell that made daily life unbearable for those living nearby. The stench led to distress sales of property and a rise in diseases, forcing many families to relocate. 30 Years Of Waste, Now A Scientific Cleanup Set up in 1985 as an open dumping site close to SKIMS Soura, Anchar Lake, and several residential...

Pioneering research at Texas A&M University is leveraging the speed and computing power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize disaster management, aiming to save lives and significantly reduce the impact of hazardous weather events in Texas and across the nation. Dr. Ali Mostafavi a professor of civil and environmental engineering views Texas a frequent site of hurricanes, flash floods, wildfires, and tornadoes as "ground zero for natural disasters" and Texas A&M as "ground zero for solutions." He highlights that expediting the prediction of a flooded neighborhood by even 30 minutes can save hundreds of lives. Researchers at his UrbanResilience.AI Lab, in a new partnership with Meta are developing AI systems designed to augment situational awareness and resilience acros...

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report highlighting the alarming rise in ground-level ozone pollution across India's major cities, according to an order dated September 26. The tribunal quoted a reply from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) dated September 25, which primarily links the elevated ozone levels to emissions from the transport sector, power plants, and industrial activities all significant contributors of nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. The CPCB specifically reported that Delhi-NCR and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region showed higher exceedances of ozone concentration compared to other regions. The report further noted that while human activities are the main cause, ozone precursors can also arise from natural sources, inc...

UTTARAKHAND, INDIA – October 7, 2025 – Traditional water systems, which are the lifeblood of rural communities in Uttarakhand's mountainous regions, are facing an unprecedented crisis. A comprehensive survey has revealed that 76% of the springs across the state are showing a decreasing discharge trend over the last decade, severely threatening water security for thousands of households. The study highlights that the iconic Naulas (stone-lined groundwater reservoirs) are particularly prevalent in the Kumaon region more so than in Garhwal due to Kumaon’s geology, which allows better water percolation, and a history of greater community autonomy in managing these traditional systems. Despite their cultural and ecological importance, the springs are rapidly failing. A striking 81% of spr...

As cities worldwide grapple with extreme heat and the escalating "urban heat island" effect, new research is refining the strategy for using trees to cool urban environments. While urban forestry is booming driven by reports from networks like C40 Cities where extreme heat is reported as the main risk scientists are warning that simply planting "any tree in any location" is insufficient and may even be counterproductive at night. Trees cool their surroundings through three primary mechanisms: providing shade, emitting water via evapotranspiration (similar to human sweating), and altering airflow. A new comprehensive global assessment from the University of Cambridge, which analyzed 182 studies since 2010, found that urban trees can lower pedestrian-level air temperature by up to 12°C . ...

While artificial intelligence (AI) models like GraphCast and FourCastNet have dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of weather forecasting, their internal workings remain largely opaque, offering little scientific insight into atmospheric processes. However, new pioneering research has demonstrated an AI algorithm that could bridge this gap, translating vast datasets into understandable mathematical equations. Traditional physics-based models are limited to short-term forecasts (typically less than two weeks) due to the "inherently chaotic" nature of weather and the exponential growth of tiny inaccuracies. These models rely on estimated parameters that represent physical processes, such as wind or temperature factors. In contrast, modern AI models achieve superior performance but...

New Zealand government has announced a major economic initiative committing over $42 million across seven years to establish a Biodiscovery Platform. The platform is designed to convert the nation unique natural biodiversity into high-value export products, including natural pharmaceuticals cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced bio-based materials. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr. Shane Reti announced the investment, emphasizing that the initiative is an "economic growth initiative" aimed at increasing New Zealand’s global market share in a rapidly expanding sector. The global bio-based products market is forecast to exceed $300 billion by 2027, with natural pharmaceuticals identified as one of the fastest-growing segments. The effort will be led by the newly forme...

Meghalaya which hosts India National Citrus Gene Sanctuary, has been reconfirmed as a critical global hub of citrus diversity, though many of its unique species are now facing significant threats. A comprehensive new study conducted by a team from the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) and regional institutes documented 13 different citrus species across the state hills including two Citrus aurantifolia (acid lime) and C. megaloxycarpa (giant wild orange) that had not been reported in previous surveys. The research collected 57 accessions from nearly every district, establishing the Garo Hills and Khasi Hills as the primary hotspots, with each area representing 10 species. This underscores the region importance, given that North Eastern India harbors 23 out of the 2...

October 5, 2025 – Glaciers around the world are retreating at an unprecedented pace driven by global warming, according to scientists who are documenting massive ice loss in regions from the Alps to the polar fringes. A recent World Meteorological Organization report revealed that glaciers outside of the colossal ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica lost a staggering 450 Billion Tonnes of ice in 2024 alone. This volume of ice is equivalent to a block 7 km tall, 7 km wide, and 7 km deep enough water to fill 180 million Olympic swimming pools. The dramatic retreat is profoundly evident in Switzerland, where glaciers have been particularly hard hit losing a quarter of their ice in the last 10 years, according to measurements released this week by Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLA...

Two young students from the Zurich University of the Arts, Andrin Stocker and Luc Schweizer, have created an innovative modular terracotta brick, called "Bloc," that has been confirmed to reduce temperatures by up to 9°C in unshaded urban areas. The invention offers a simple, sustainable solution to the growing problem of "urban heat islands" and has earned the students a spot as a finalist in the prestigious James Dyson Award. The Bloc brick is not a purely modern invention but is deeply rooted in ancient passive cooling techniques. Its creators drew inspiration from the evaporative cooling of terracotta jars, the temperature-regulating architecture of termite mounds and the ventilating design of Middle Eastern Badgir (wind catchers). They further incorporated principles from cactus ge...