Environment

Gurgaon: Cracking down on illegal mining on private land, possibly spilling over to the eco sensitive Aravali belt, Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Charkhi Dadri mining officer and collector to conduct site inspections. They must file personal affidavits placing verified facts on record, while also ensuring compliance with mining rules, environmental clearance…

NICOSIA: The European Union’s climate commissioner on Friday announced a continentwide force of 300 firefighters to battle wildfires, after Europe faced its worst year for wildfires in 2025, which a recent study said was intensified by climate change. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Friday the “rapid reaction force” will be made up of firefighters…

PARIS: In an ironic twist, lower air pollution during Covid lockdowns fuelled an unprecedented surge in the powerful greenhouse gas methane in the early 2020s, a study said Thursday.Methane levels rose at a record pace in the wake of the pandemic as the super pollutant’s main natural “cleaning agent” weakened during that period, the research…

A cherry blossom festival boasting a highly Instagrammable view of Japan’s Mount Fuji has been cancelled after residents complained of overtourism fuelled by the weak yen.The city of Fujiyoshida, in central Japan’s Yamanashi region, said Tuesday that the weeks-long event attracting around 200,000 people will be called off this year because “the quiet lives of…

Dehradun: Uttarakhand lost 749 leopards and 86 tigers over five years since 2020, according to data provided by the state forest department under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The information was shared with Amit Gupta, a Noida-based RTI activist, on Jan 19. To put the figures in perspective, around 235 tigers and around 1500…

PARIS: Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050 and while tropical countries will bear the brunt cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists said Monday.Demand for cooling will “drastically” increase in giant countries like Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, where hundreds of millions of people lack air conditioning or other means of…

A powerful winter storm tore through vast parts of the United States, dumping snow, sleet and freezing rain across multiple regions. Emergency declarations were issued in over 20 states as Arctic air followed the system, threatening prolonged disruption and dangerous cold. (Picture credit: AP) Source link

Pedestrians walk and ride their bike as heavy snow falls, Sunday (AP photo) Over 800,000 were left without power in the US amid a massive winter storm that threatened to paralyse eastern states with heavy snowfall. Over 10,000 flights have also been cancelled as of Sunday.Power outages mounted as the storm intensified. By 10:18 am…

A massive winter storm disrupted air travel across the United States on Sunday, triggering widespread flight cancellations and delays at some of the country’s busiest airports and setting up what airlines warned would be a brutal travel day.The National Weather Service said late Saturday that widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million…

For generations, they have lived quietly at the edge of ponds, paddy fields, and village lore—small, croaking creatures whose voices rise just before the skies open. To meteorologists, frogs are bioindicators. To farmers staring at cracked earth and empty canals, they are something more.In villages across India, when the monsoon fails and prayers go unanswered,…