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Environment

India Proposes Five-Point Global Plan to Protect Mountains at Sagarmatha Sambaad

India Proposes Five-Point Global Plan to Protect Mountains at Sagarmatha Sambaad

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
India reaffirmed its climate leadership at the international stage on Friday, as Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, addressed the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad in Kathmandu, Nepal. Representing India at the high-level global dialogue on “Climate Change, Mountains, and the Future of Humanity,” Yadav unveiled a five-point global action plan to protect fragile mountain ecosystems and foster climate resilience across borders. The summit brought together environment ministers, climate leaders, and policymakers from around the world to discuss the rapidly escalating impacts of climate change on mountain regions, especially the Himalayas. Honouring Sagarmatha: A Shared Heritage Opening his address, Yadav praised Nepal’s initiative in convening the ...
Global Unity on Climate Change: Sagarmatha Sambaad Underscores Urgent Call for Action

Global Unity on Climate Change: Sagarmatha Sambaad Underscores Urgent Call for Action

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
World leaders, climate experts, and international delegates gathered in Nepal for the Sagarmatha Sambaad, where they reaffirmed their collective commitment to combat climate change with special focus on its mounting impact on mountainous regions. The summit emphasized collaboration, environmental justice, and urgent global action to secure the planet’s future. Summit Opens with Global Backing for Nepal’s Climate Vision The three-day Sagarmatha Sambaad began with a strong show of international support for Nepal’s climate leadership. Nepali Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba highlighted the growing global consensus in support of safeguarding fragile mountain ecosystems, acknowledging endorsements even from non-mountainous nations that recognize the interconnectedness of climate impac...
Delhi Air Quality Crisis: Emergency Steps Trigger Political Feud as Pollution Surges

Delhi Air Quality Crisis: Emergency Steps Trigger Political Feud as Pollution Surges

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
Delhi NCR is once again grappling with a severe air pollution episode, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to enforce Stage-I measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on May 16. The decision follows a rapid rise in the city’s pollution levels, driven by strong winds that carried dust from distant regions, pushing the Air Quality Index (AQI) to a concerning 278. Forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) indicate that these poor air quality conditions are likely to persist at least through May 17. Despite recent official claims of progress, with only two ‘poor’ air days recorded in the first half of May 2025 the lowest in four years the sudden spike has reignited political fault lines. Th...
South Africa E-Waste Revolution Begins in North West Province

South Africa E-Waste Revolution Begins in North West Province

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
In a decisive move to confront South Africa’s mounting electronic waste crisis, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has launched a groundbreaking community-based initiative in the North West Province. Announced during a Service Delivery Imbizo in Rustenburg, the initiative is a bold step toward building an environmentally responsible culture of electronic recycling. Understanding E-Waste: A Modern Toxic Threat Electronic waste, or e-waste, refers to discarded electrical or electronic devices. These include common items such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, printers, batteries, cables, microwaves, fridges, and even broken light bulbs. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world due to rapid technological advancement and co...
How Indigenous Fire Practices Can Restore Ecosystems and Reduce Wildfire Risks in British Columbia

How Indigenous Fire Practices Can Restore Ecosystems and Reduce Wildfire Risks in British Columbia

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
As wildfires intensify across British Columbia (BC) and much of the world, a growing body of research is pointing to a powerful, time-tested solution: fire itself. A new report from the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project at the University of Victoria urges a fundamental shift in how society views and manages fire. Titled “Beneficial Fire in British Columbia: An Exploration of How Fire Can Contribute to Wildfire Resilience,” the report emphasizes that not all fire is destructive some fire is essential. This concept of beneficial fire marks a transformative approach to wildfire resilience. Beneficial fire refers to planned or naturally occurring wildland fires that improve ecosystem health without posing unacceptable risk to human communities. It includes cultural burning led by Indigenous...
Heat Rising, Risks Rising: Climate Change Threatens Global Maternal Health

Heat Rising, Risks Rising: Climate Change Threatens Global Maternal Health

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Fact Check
A new global analysis reveals that extreme heat, intensified by climate change, is endangering maternal health and birth outcomes around the world especially in vulnerable regions with limited access to healthcare. According to data from Climate Central, rising temperatures over the past five years have dramatically increased the number of high-risk heat days for pregnant women across the globe. The report assessed daily maximum temperatures between 2020 and 2024 in 247 countries, territories, and dependencies, as well as 940 major cities. It focused on what researchers call “pregnancy heat-risk days” those with maximum temperatures warmer than 95% of all historical temperatures at a given location. These conditions are closely associated with heightened risks of preterm birth and pregn...
Powerful Solar Flares Trigger Global Radio Blackouts, Signal Intensifying Sun Activity

Powerful Solar Flares Trigger Global Radio Blackouts, Signal Intensifying Sun Activity

Breaking News, Environment, Space
The sun erupted with two massive solar flares early Wednesday, including the strongest of 2025 so far an X2.7-class flare causing widespread shortwave radio blackouts across at least five continents. The event came just a day after NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured another major eruption, an X1.2-class flare, in a dramatic image. Solar flares are categorized by intensity, with X-class being the most powerful. Wednesday’s solar storm peaked at 4:25 a.m. ET, delivering a strong burst of plasma and charged particles into space. This flare followed an M5.3-class flare several hours earlier, further underscoring the heightened solar activity. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, these intense flares disrupted high-frequency radio communications in parts of Nor...
Heat Threatens Latin America Banana Industry, Puts Global Supply at Risk

Heat Threatens Latin America Banana Industry, Puts Global Supply at Risk

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Fact Check
Climate Pressures Shrinking Banana-Growing Zones Rising global temperatures are pushing Latin America’s banana-producing regions toward unsuitability, with new research warning that by 2080, up to 60% of current export-suitable areas could be lost without urgent climate action. Brazil’s Farmers Struggle in the Heat In Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, banana farmers are already facing severe impacts. Even with irrigation, plantations are showing signs of stress during prolonged heatwaves. In 2023, extreme heat reduced harvest output by 15%, and similar conditions are likely to return this year. Major Exporters Under Threat The most vulnerable areas include Colombia and Costa Rica, key banana exporters to Europe and North America. These regions are experiencing rising te...
Africa on Climate Frontline: Rising Heat, Floods, and Droughts Worsen Crisis, Threaten Development

Africa on Climate Frontline: Rising Heat, Floods, and Droughts Worsen Crisis, Threaten Development

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
WMO's 2024 climate report warns of worsening weather extremes, mounting socio-economic toll, and urgent need for digital adaptation and resilience planning across Africa The climate emergency in Africa has reached a critical tipping point, with cascading disasters impacting lives, livelihoods, and the continent’s development prospects at an alarming pace. The State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) paints a grim portrait of a region buckling under the weight of extreme heat, deadly floods, prolonged droughts, and widespread humanitarian upheaval. From failed harvests to paralyzed power grids, and from flooded homes to growing water crises, climate change is no longer a future threat for Africa it is a destructive force in the pres...
Monsoon 2025 Advances Early: IMD Predicts Bay Entry by May 13, Kerala Onset by May 27

Monsoon 2025 Advances Early: IMD Predicts Bay Entry by May 13, Kerala Onset by May 27

Breaking News, Environment
New Delhi, May 13, 2025 — The Southwest Monsoon (SWM) is expected to advance into the South Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands, and parts of the southeast Bay of Bengal by May 13, 2025, according to the latest update from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This signals an early arrival of the monsoon season, ahead of its normal schedule. On May 10, the IMD had forecasted that the monsoon may begin over Kerala by May 27, which is four days earlier than the typical onset date of June 1. Earlier, on April 15, the agency had predicted that the 2025 monsoon season is likely to deliver above-normal to excess rainfall across the country. The expected early movement of the monsoon is being supported by the development of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. While this system may or ma...