Tuesday, July 1News That Matters

Tag: climate change

Heat Rising, Warnings Failing: Why Early Action Is Crucial to Combat Global Heatwaves

Heat Rising, Warnings Failing: Why Early Action Is Crucial to Combat Global Heatwaves

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
As scorching temperatures shatter records with alarming frequency, a new era of climate danger is unfolding across the globe. From the U.S. to South Asia, heatwaves are no longer rare occurrences they're becoming the new normal. Today, on Heat Action Day, as communities around the world raise awareness of the dangers of extreme heat, it is clear that awareness alone is not enough. Action must follow swiftly, inclusively, and equitably. Across every continent, extreme heat is quietly claiming lives and overwhelming systems. It spares no part of daily life: hospitals overflow, energy grids collapse, outdoor labor becomes perilous, and students struggle to learn inside sweltering classrooms. In Nepal’s rural Madesh region, a recent study by Mercy Corps lays bare the educational conseque...
Wildfire smoke blankets one-third of U.S., raising health alarms

Wildfire smoke blankets one-third of U.S., raising health alarms

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters, Environment
June 5, 2025 A dense blanket of wildfire smoke from more than 200 fires burning across Canada has shrouded nearly one-third of the United States, triggering widespread air quality alerts and renewed concerns about public health. The smoke, drifting from blazes in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, has turned skies hazy and pushed toxic pollution levels to hazardous highs in parts of New England, New York, and the Midwest. According to the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, the smoke has spread from the Dakotas through the Ohio Valley and into the Northeastern states, reaching as far south as Georgia. While much of the smoke remains suspended in the upper atmosphere, areas like New York and Connecticut are experiencing a heavier concentratio...
Antarctic Ice Sheet Near Irreversible Melting Tipping Point, Study Warns

Antarctic Ice Sheet Near Irreversible Melting Tipping Point, Study Warns

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
A groundbreaking new study has revealed that the Antarctic Ice Sheet Earth’s largest contributor to potential sea-level rise may be dangerously close to an irreversible tipping point, beyond which melting will continue even if global temperatures are stabilised or reduced. Scientists from Norway’s NORCE Research, the UK’s Northumbria University, and Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have confirmed that the ice sheet is showing signs of “hysteresis” a phenomenon where a system continues on its path regardless of changes to the initial conditions. In this case, it means that the melting of Antarctica’s vast ice reserves could continue even without additional global warming. Using sophisticated computer simulations known as Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), th...
Karnataka Governor Urges Collective Action on Sustainability at Bengaluru Summit

Karnataka Governor Urges Collective Action on Sustainability at Bengaluru Summit

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Thoughts & Talks
At the Bangalore Sustainability Summit held on Tuesday, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot called for urgent and unified efforts to protect the environment, stressing that the time for action is now. Speaking at the event themed “Advancing Sustainable Development Goals: Enhancing the Impact of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships,” jointly organised by O.P. Jindal Global University and RV University, the Governor urged a lifestyle rooted in simplicity, nature, and reverence for forests. “We must awaken a renewed consciousness—rooted in love and respect for nature,” Gehlot said, highlighting the dangers posed by rising pollution and depleting natural resources. He noted that recent challenges, such as the oxygen crisis, have only underscored the pressing need for environmental preservation...
From Searing to Surreal: India’s Summer Ends Before It Began Amid Weather Whiplash

From Searing to Surreal: India’s Summer Ends Before It Began Amid Weather Whiplash

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
In a stunning contrast to the brutal summer of 2024, India in 2025 is experiencing an unprecedented early end to summer, upending expectations and raising fresh concerns about growing climate volatility. Last year, May and June were defined by relentless heatwaves, pushing thermometers to historic highs and placing immense stress on agriculture, power grids, and public health. The scorching summer of 2024, ultimately labeled the hottest year on record, had become emblematic of the global climate crisis. But in a dramatic reversal May 2025 has unfolded with unseasonably cool temperatures, widespread cloud cover, and scattered rainstorms offering rare relief from what is normally the year's harshest season. The shift has left meteorologists, farmers, and citizens both relieved and perp...
India Ramps Up Climate, Security Diplomacy in Central Asia with Strong Glacier Warning

India Ramps Up Climate, Security Diplomacy in Central Asia with Strong Glacier Warning

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
In a major diplomatic push through Central Asia, India has reaffirmed its climate leadership and regional cooperation agenda with a focused outreach led by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. During a high-level visit to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Singh participated in key multilateral forums on glacier preservation and biodiversity while also holding bilateral discussions on security, trade, and strategic collaboration. In Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, Singh addressed the High-Level International Conference on Glacier Preservation, placing the spotlight on the alarming rate of glacial retreat in the Himalayas. Stressing the urgency of the climate crisis, the Indian delegation showcased India’s scientific and technological efforts in glacier monitoring under th...
New Study Finds Doubling Glacier Preservation Possible If 1.5°C Climate Target Is Met

New Study Finds Doubling Glacier Preservation Possible If 1.5°C Climate Target Is Met

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
A landmark study published in Science reveals that limiting global warming to 1.5°C as outlined in the Paris Agreement could preserve twice as much of the world’s glacier mass compared to current warming projections. Conducted by an international team of researchers, the study examined more than 200,000 glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica using eight advanced glacier models. The findings arrive during the United Nations’ International Year of Glaciers' Preservation and offer a stark warning about the irreversible impacts of unchecked climate change. Despite a global average temperature increase of 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, the research shows that 39% of glaciers are already set to disappear even if temperatures stabilized today. This loss alone would add more than fo...
Climate Change Doubled Extreme Heat Days in Nearly Every Country, New Report Finds

Climate Change Doubled Extreme Heat Days in Nearly Every Country, New Report Finds

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check
A new analysis shows that human-caused climate change made 67 extreme heat events between May 2024 and May 2025 more likely including record-shattering heatwaves in the Mediterranean, Central Asia, and South Sudan. All 67 events either broke temperature records, caused serious damage, or both. Using the Climate Shift Index, researchers found that every country and territory experienced more extreme heat days due to climate change. In 195 countries, the number of such days has at least doubled compared to a world without global warming. Nearly 4 billion people half the world’s population faced an extra month of extreme heat over the past year. The report, compiled by Climate Central, World Weather Attribution, and the Red Cross Climate Centre, points to a troubling global pattern. In ...
Drought-Resistant Wheat: Friendly Soil Bacteria Offer Breakthrough for Climate-Smart Farming

Drought-Resistant Wheat: Friendly Soil Bacteria Offer Breakthrough for Climate-Smart Farming

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
In a major breakthrough for sustainable agriculture researchers at Western Sydney University have discovered that wheat plants under drought stress can recruit helpful soil microbes to survive a finding that could revolutionise crop resilience in the face of climate change. Nature’s SOS: Microbial Allies Beneath Our Feet The study, published in the prestigious journal Cell Host & Microbe, reveals that drought-hit wheat plants secrete a compound called 4-oxoproline through their roots. This acts like a chemical distress signal, attracting beneficial soil bacteria particularly Streptomyces and Leifsonia to their root zones. Once in place, these “drought-fighting” microbes respond by producing osmolytes, plant hormones, and nutrient solubilisers. Together, these help wheat plants...
Glacier Crisis Deepens: Just 24% of Global Ice to Survive If Warming Hits 2.7°C, Warns Study

Glacier Crisis Deepens: Just 24% of Global Ice to Survive If Warming Hits 2.7°C, Warns Study

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment
Only a quarter of the world’s glacier ice will remain if global temperatures rise to 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels the path the planet is currently on according to a new study published in the journal Science. The findings come as over 50 countries gather in Tajikistan for the United Nations’ first-ever international conference on glaciers, held against the backdrop of alarming global melt rates. The study, conducted by 21 scientists from 10 countries, used eight advanced models to simulate the long-term fate of more than 200,000 glaciers worldwide. The results reveal a stark difference in outcomes depending on the world’s climate action trajectory. Under the current path, with warming expected to reach 2.7°C, only 24 per cent of the 2020 glacier ice mass would survive in the long r...