Down To Earth | Latest news, opinion, analysis on environment & science issues

TRACKING THE MONSOON

Climate Change

Monsoon 2024: It was drought, deluge or both for India in June, a tell-tale sign of climate change

Ladakh’s cold desert received a whopping 385% excess rain in June; far to the south, Wayanad in the Western Ghats recorded a 38% deficit

NEWS AND VIEWS

Climate Change

Delhi’s night shelters fail to bring respite to homeless as heatwaves now make way for deadlier humid heat

There are as many as 200,000 homeless people in Delhi; at least 192 of them have died due …

Energy

Agrovoltaics are a sustainable solution to India's solar energy land-use challenges

Integrating agriculture with solar power can enhance land productivity and alleviate farm …

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Biodiversity Convention: Decisions on new avatar of benefit sharing on the anvil next month

Plant, animal, and microbe genetic material are all examples of digital sequence information. Photo for representation: iStock

A multilateral fund for sharing benefits could provide funds for meeting targets of the …

Environment

Eco-labels can help with responsible consumption, production

A standard rating framework can prevent greenwashing and help achieve sustainable …

Health

‘COVID-19 summer wave’: Masks are back in hospitals, vaccinations stepped up as cases rise in UK, US

People in the West are beginning to brace for the possibility of another COVID-19 wave as …

Agriculture

Bachelor farmers in Karnataka break caste barriers to improve chances of marriage

Farmers argue it is unfair for women to outrightly blacklist men solely for being in the …

Climate Change

AI helps uncover hidden meltwater reservoirs in Antarctica, with potentially severe impacts on sea-level rise

Mapping slush has been challenging due to its similarity to other features like cloud shadows. Photo: iStock

New mapping uncovers vast slush reservoirs, reshaping our understanding of ice shelf stability

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Harimau Malaya: There are less than 150 Malayan tigers left, Malaysian minister tells lower house of Parliament

Malaysian cabinet approved 9 strategic actions in 2021 to stem decline in tiger numbers

Videos

Waste

DTE Call for Action: Wastepaper circularity

There is almost no data available in any government report on the quantity of waste paper diverted into secondary applications

Energy

How did the first all-women manure cooperative create biogas? | NDDB Zakariyapura Gujarat

Water

The Sunita Narain Show | Rainwater harvesting | How India can be self-sufficient?

Natural Disasters

Bangladesh floods: More than 2 million stranded, 31 dead; Rohingyas bear the brunt

Food

The Green Kitchen: Moringa, the most nutritious superfood in the world

Climate Change

Hindu Kush-Himalaya: Indus, Ganga, other river basins face lower than normal snow persistence

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CSE Online Training Courses

The Plastic Lifecycle

Online Training on Understanding Environmental Laws for Better Environmental Management

Integrated Online and Onsite Training on Environmental Impact Assessment

Online training course New approaches to air quality data analytics and pollution source assessment for better air quality management

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Hands-on laboratory training for working professionals infaecal sludge Management

Sustainable Solid Waste Management With Special Focus on waste treatment and processing to Strengthen Implementation of SBM 2.0

Demystifying Environmental and Sustainability Data for Effective Communication in the 21st Century

Onsite Training Program on Low Carbon Pathways for Industrial Sectors

Integrated online and residential training: Lake Rejuvenation and Groundwater Management in Urban Areas

Residential Training on Water Efficiency and Conservation (WEC) in Urban India

Residential Training on Social Impact Assessment

Three Day Residential Training: Compressed Biogas (CBG): Potential, Technology, Policy, Operations and Economics

Cartoons

Photo Gallery

The Przewalski’s Horse (pronounced Shuvalski) or ‘Takhi’ in Mongolian, the world’s only true wild horse, is back on the Kazakh Steppe, the Kazakhstan section of the Eurasian Steppe — the great band of grassland that stretches from Hungary in Europe to Man

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Takhi: Przewalski’s horses back on the Kazakh steppe

The planet’s only true wild horse is being ‘rewilded’ in Central Asia, where it roamed once

The iconic red dog or Asiatic wild dog, the dhole (Cuon alpinus) has been at the receiving end of human actions till now. But recent years have slowly peeled away layers of ignorance regarding the species. There has been a substantial increase in the scie

Wildlife & Biodiversity

World Dhole Day 2024: Are things looking up for Asia’s red dogs?

Recent years have seen a host of new research on the elusive canid; many range countries now working on national plans

On May 2, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 24 as the ‘International Day of the Markhor’, after the iconic and ecologically significant wild goat (Capra falconeri) found across the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia. The fi

Wildlife & Biodiversity

Markhor: The world’s largest wild goat now has a day of its own

The UN declared May 24 as ‘International Day of the Markhor’ on May 2, citing its iconic and economic importance

Environment

Ghazipur landfill fire: Annual choking hazard for Delhi

Authorities have missed multiple deadlines to clear out the legacy waste from Ghazipur landfill

डाउन टू अर्थ

जैव विविधता

जैव विविधता को बढ़ावा देने के लिए भारत ने एक लाख जीवों की प्रजातियों की पहली सूची की तैयार

भारत अपने पूरे जीव-जंतुओं की सूची जारी करने वाला पहला देश बना, जिसमें 104,561 प्रजातियां शामिल हैं।

जलवायु संकट

सरकार, कंपनियों के खिलाफ तेजी से बढ़ रहे जलवायु संबंधी मामले, 2,666 मुकदमे आए हैं सामने

1986 से 2023 के बीच दुनिया भर में इस जलवायु परिवर्तन के मुद्दे पर 2,666 मामले अदालत में आए हैं। इनमें से करीब 70 फीसदी मामले 2015 के बाद दर्ज किए गए हैं

मानसून

भारत में जून में सामान्य से 11 फीसदी कम हुई बारिश: मौसम विभाग

पिछले महीने मध्य के इलाकों में औसत से 14 प्रतिशत, उत्तर-पश्चिमी हिस्सों में 33 प्रतिशत और उत्तर-पूर्वी इलाकों में 13 प्रतिशत कम बारिश हुई। दूसरी ओर दक्षिणी क्षेत्रों में औसत से 14 प्रतिशत अधिक बारिश

Data Centre

Waste

State of Environment in Figures 2024 on plastic waste in India

Redressal rate of complaints against illegal plastic waste has slowed down over time across Indian states

Waste

State of Environment in Figures 2024 on legacy waste in India

Why it is a dismal picture as far as management of this type of waste in India is concerned

Environment

Key findings of State of India’s Environment In Figures 2024

From waste, health, climate change and forests to urbanisation and electric vehicles, here is what the annual DTE publication found

Waste

State of Environment in Figures 2024 on municipal solid waste in India

At least 12 states and Union Territories process less than half of the municipal solid waste they generate daily

Factsheet

DTE analysis: 70% districts reported 40°C at least once in last two months

Climate Change

DTE analysis: 70% districts in India reported 40°C at least once in last two months

Hingoli, Washim and Akola districts in Maharashtra had the highest number of days with maximum temperature above 40°C

Sunita Narain's Desk

Director General of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Editor of Down To Earth magazine. She is an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets